SEATTLE —Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum (EMP|SFM) is proud to honor legendary guitarist, songwriter and producer Steve Cropper at its Third Annual Founders Award Celebration, which will be held Thursday, November 12.

The 2009 Founders Award will pay tribute to Cropper. One of the best-known soul guitarists in the world, Cropper’s career began in the early 1960s, first with the legendary soul group the Mar-Keys and later as a founding member of Booker T. & the MG's. A pivotal figure in the Southern soul movement of the '60s, Cropper made his mark not only as a player and arranger (most notably on classic sides by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Wilson Pickett) but as a songwriter as well, co-writing the classic "In the Midnight Hour." Later on, in the 1970s, he produced Jeff Beck and Mitch Ryder, among others. In the 1980s, he helped to bring the classic Stax sound (which he helped shape) back to popularity with a new audience with actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and  The Blues Brothers, a Saturday Night Live skit that stretched into several albums and a movie.

Museum founders Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen Patton are honorary event co-chairs. The 2009 Founders Award Celebration is sponsored by J.P. Morgan. Proceeds from the Founders Award Celebration will benefit the museum’s youth education programs.

The award presentation and tribute concert portion of the evening will begin at 8:00 p.m. Mike Musberger, Jeff Fielder, Andrew McKeag, Ty Bailey, Craig Flory and Skerik will perform selections from Cropper’s songbook and other classic soul hits. A limited number of tickets are available to the 2009 Founders Award Celebration and begin at $325.

The EMP|SFM Founders Award is presented to artists who have made outstanding contributions to their respective fields. EMP|SFM is honored to present the 2009 Founders Award to Steve Cropper in celebration of his pioneering music career, which began more than 40 years ago, and for his unwavering dedication to both the music and recording industries. A Missouri native, he has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, In 2007, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Education programs are at the heart of EMP|SFM’s mission to create immersive environments that invite emotional and intellectual responses. From school field trips and educator resource development to summer camps and the scholarship program, the museum reaches more than 32,000 schoolchildren annually.

In 2007, the Founders Award was presented to Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. In 2008, the award was presented to songwriter, guitarist and producer Robbie Robertson.

Steve Cropper Biography:

Soul music and rock ‘n’ roll wouldn’t be the same without Steve Cropper, a guitarist, writer, producer and engineer whose versatility has put him in a class by himself. He is best known for co-writing and playing on vintage hits such as Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay,’’ Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour’’ and Eddie Floyd’s “Knock on Wood.’’ Cropper lent his signature guitar sound to many Sam & Dave hits and was a founding member of Booker T. & the MG’s, which served as the house band at Stax Records in Memphis. He later formed The Blues Brothers with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd. As a member of The Blues Brothers, he has made two movies and participated in this year’s 20th anniversary concert tour.

A consummate session guitarist, Cropper has recorded with an extraordinary range of outstanding artists, including John Lennon, Etta James, Roy Orbison, Jimmy Buffett, Boz Scaggs, Carla and Rufus Thomas, the Staple Singers and Wayne Newton. As a producer, he has worked with Jeff Beck, Tower of Power and Jose Feliciano. Cropper is also a solo artist and has recorded four albums, including 2008’s “Nudge It Up a Notch’’ with former Young Rascals singer Felix Cavaliere. Named by England’s Mojo magazine as the number 2 guitarist of all time (behind Jimi Hendrix), Cropper received praise that his “playing is lean and mean, sympathetic and imaginative.’’ A Missouri native, he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

EMP|SFM is presenting Steve Cropper with its Founders Award in recognition of a pioneering career that has influenced the direction of popular music and artists across all genres.