Remembering Steve Cropper / Playwright Tom Stoppard

This episode of Fresh Air features an interview with guitarist Steve Cropper, known for his influential work with Stax Records. The episode includes excerpts from an archive interview with Terry Gross where Cropper discusses his early musical influences, transitioning from country to rhythm and blues, and his role as a rhythm guitarist, producer, and songwriter at Stax Records. He shares stories about forming Booker T and the MGs, co-writing hits like "Dock of the Bay" with Otis Redding and "In the Midnight Hour" with Wilson Pickett, and his involvement with The Blues Brothers. The episode also includes segments on jazz organist Jimmy Smith and a review of the Brazilian film "The Secret Agent," as well as a remembrance of playwright Tom Stoppard and his play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".