Lewie Polk Steinberg (September 13, 1933 – July 21, 2016) was an American musician best known as the original

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

player for the

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

group Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

Biography

Steinberg was born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

parents. He joined Booker T. & the MG's in 1962. He was featured on "

Green Onions "Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a ...

" and its B-side, "Behave Yourself", as well as the albums ''

'' and '' Soul Dressing''. Steinberg left the group in 1965 and was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn. Steinberg was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. He lived in Memphis.Mehr, Bob (February 12, 2007)
Stax Stacks Up at Grammys
''

Memphis Commercial Appeal ''The Commercial Appeal'' (also known as the ''Memphis Commercial Appeal'') is a daily newspaper of Memphis, Tennessee, and its surrounding metropolitan area. It is owned by the Gannett Company; its former owner, the E. W. Scripps Company, al ...

''. Steinberg died from cancer on July 21, 2016, in Memphis, at the age of 82.

References

External links

* 1933 births 2016 deaths American bass guitarists Booker T. & the M.G.'s members American rhythm and blues bass guitarists Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Guitarists from Tennessee 20th-century American guitarists {{US-bass-guitarist-stub