View source for Donald "Duck" Dunn

{{Short description|American bass guitarist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2012}}

{{Additional citations|date=March 2024}}{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = Donald "Duck" Dunn
| image           = DDDunn.jpg
| alt             = Dunn on stage playing bass guitar wearing a yellow Hawaiian shirt
| caption         = Dunn in 2007
| image_size      =
| birth_name      = Donald Dunn
| alias           = Duck
| birth_date      = {{birth date|1941|11|24}}
| birth_place     = [[Memphis, Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date      = {{death date and age|2012|5|13|1941|11|24}}
| death_place     = [[Tokyo]], Japan
| instrument      = Bass guitar
| genre           = {{hlist|[[Memphis soul]]|[[soul music]]|[[R&B]]|[[southern soul]]}}
| occupation      = {{hlist|Musician|songwriter|producer}}
| years_active    = 1960–2012
| past_member_of     = [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]]
| current_member_of = [[The Blues Brothers]]
| website         = {{URL|duckdunn.com}}
}}
'''Donald''' "'''Duck'''" '''Dunn''' (November 24, 1941 – May 13, 2012)<ref>[http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/05/legendary-session-bassist-donald-duck.html "Legendary Session Bassist Donald 'Duck' Dunn Passes Away at 70"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226182125/http://www.vintagevinylnews.com/2012/05/legendary-session-bassist-donald-duck.html |date=December 26, 2017 }}, Vintage Vinyl News, May 13, 2012</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18049583 |title=BBC News Online |work=BBC News |date=May 13, 2012 |access-date=May 14, 2012}}</ref> was an American bass guitarist, [[session musician]], record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]] and as a session bassist for [[Stax Records]]. At Stax, Dunn played on thousands of records, including hits by [[Otis Redding]], [[Sam & Dave]], [[Rufus Thomas]], [[Carla Thomas]], [[William Bell (singer)|William Bell]], [[Eddie Floyd]], [[Johnnie Taylor]], [[Albert King]], [[Bill Withers]], [[Elvis Presley]], and many others. In 1992, he was inducted in the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. In 2017, he was ranked 40th on ''Bass Player'' magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time".<ref name="The 100 Greatest Bass Players">{{cite web |date=August 10, 2020 |title=The 100 Best Bass Players of All Time |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-100-best-bass-players-of-all-time |access-date=2024-01-12 |website=bassplayer.com |publisher=[[NewBay Media]]}}</ref>

==Early life==
Dunn was born in [[Memphis, Tennessee]]. His father nicknamed him "[[Donald Duck|Duck]]" while watching [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] cartoons with him one day. Dunn grew up playing sports and riding his bike with another future professional musician, [[Steve Cropper]].

==Career==

=== 1960s: First bands ===

After Cropper began playing guitar with their friend Charlie Freeman, Dunn decided to learn the bass guitar. Eventually, along with drummer Terry Johnson, the four became the Royal Spades. The [[Messick High School]] group added keyboardist Jerry Lee "Smoochy" Smith, singer Ronnie Angel (also known as Stoots), and a budding young horn section in [[baritone saxophone]] player [[Don Nix]], tenor saxophone player [[Charles "Packy" Axton]], and trumpeter (and future co-founder of the [[The Memphis Horns|Memphis Horns]]) [[Wayne Jackson (musician)|Wayne Jackson]].

Cropper has noted how the self-taught Dunn started out playing along with records, filling in what he thought should be there. "That's why Duck Dunn's bass lines are very unique," Cropper said, "They're not locked into somebody's schoolbook somewhere". Axton's mother, [[Estelle Axton|Estelle]], and her brother [[Jim Stewart (music)|Jim Stewart]] owned [[Satellite Records]] and signed the band, who had a national hit with "Last Night" in 1961 under their new name, the "[[The Mar-Keys|Mar-Keys]]".{{sfn|Guralnick|1999|p=139}}

Booker T. and the M.G.'s was founded by Cropper and [[Booker T. Jones]] in 1962, with the drummer [[Al Jackson, Jr.]]{{sfn|Guralnick|1999|p=155}} The original bassist, on early hits such as "[[Green Onions]]", was [[Lewie Steinberg]]; Dunn replaced him in 1965.{{sfn|Guralnick|1999|p=158}}

===Late 1960s–1970s: Session musician===
{{No sources|section|date=March 2024}}
Stax Records became known for the sound of the Booker T & the MG's, [[The Memphis Horns|Memphis Horns]] and the Mar-Keys. The MG's and Dunn's bass lines on songs like [[Otis Redding]]'s "[[Respect (song)|Respect]]" and "[[I Can't Turn You Loose]]", [[Sam & Dave]]'s "[[Hold On, I'm Comin' (song)|Hold On, I'm Comin']]", and [[Albert King]]'s "[[Born Under a Bad Sign]]" influenced R&B musicians.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Billboard Hot R&B Sides|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|page=36|volume=73|number=48|issn=0006-2510}}</ref>

As an instrumental group, they continued to experiment with the album ''[[McLemore Avenue]]'' (their reworking of the [[The Beatles|Beatles]]' ''[[Abbey Road]]'') and on their final album, ''Melting Pot'' (1971), which featured bass lines that to this day inspire [[hip-hop]] artists.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.avclub.com/booker-t-jones-1798216398| work=The A.V. Club| title=Interview: Booker T. Jones| first=Noel | last=Murray | access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> In the 1970s, Jones and Cropper left Stax, but Dunn and Jackson stayed with the label. Dunn worked with [[Elvis Presley]] on his 1973 RCA Album ''[[Raised on Rock / For Ol' Times Sake|Raised on Rock]]''.

[[Booker T. and the MG's]] had performed in concert and jammed in the studio with CCR in the past, and Dunn in particular had become friends with the band members. Dunn worked with [[Creedence Clearwater Revival]] (CCR)'s album "Willy and the Poor Boys, and Dunn and [[Stu Cook]] joined Doug Clifford's album " Cosmo".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/cosmo-r33436/review |title=Cosmo - Doug Clifford |publisher=AllMusic | access-date=25 September 2025}}</ref> <!-- But CCR ultimately decided to remain a trio from then on.-->

===1980s–2000s===
[[File:Donald Duck Dunn tours with Guy Sebastian on the Memphis Tour 2008.JPG|alt=right|thumb|215px|Dunn (left), [[Guy Sebastian]] (center) and [[Steve Cropper]] (right) on tour in Australia with the [[The Memphis Tour|Memphis Tour]]]]
Dunn went on to play for [[Muddy Waters]], [[Freddie King]], [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Paul Butterfield]], [[Mike Bloomfield]], and [[Rod Stewart]]. He was the featured bass player on the single "[[Stop Draggin' My Heart Around]]", by [[Stevie Nicks]] and [[Tom Petty]], from Nicks's debut solo album ''[[Bella Donna (album)|Bella Donna]]'' (1981), and on other tracks by Petty between 1976 and 1981. He reunited with Cropper as a member of [[Levon Helm's RCO All Stars]] and also displayed his quirky Southern humor making two movies with Cropper, former [[Stax Records|Stax]] drummer [[Willie Hall (drummer)|Willie Hall]], and [[Dan Aykroyd]] as a member of the [[The Blues Brothers|Blues Brothers]] band. Dunn was the bassist in Eric Clapton's band for Clapton's appearance at Live Aid in 1985.

Dunn played himself in the 1980 feature ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'', where he famously uttered the line, "We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline!" and was frequently shown smoking a pipe while playing. He appeared in the 1998 sequel ''[[Blues Brothers 2000]]'', again as himself. Dunn & the MGs were the house band for [[Bob Dylan]]'s concert celebrating Dylan's 30th anniversary in the music business at [[Madison Square Garden]] playing behind [[Bob Dylan|Dylan]], [[George Harrison]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Tom Petty]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Sinéad O'Connor]], [[Eddie Vedder]], and [[Neil Young]], who recruited the MGs to tour with him and recorded with Dunn several times since.

In the 2000s, Dunn was in semi-retirement, but still performed occasionally with Booker T. & the MG's at clubs and music festivals.

In June 2004, Dunn, Cropper, and Jones served as the house band for [[Eric Clapton]]'s [[Crossroads Guitar Festival]]. The group backed such guitarists as [[Joe Walsh]] and [[David Hidalgo]] on the main stage at the Cotton Bowl in [[Dallas]], Texas.<ref>''Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival'', DVD R2 970378, 2004.</ref>

In 2008, Dunn worked with the Australian soul singer [[Guy Sebastian]] touring for ''[[The Memphis Album]]''. Dunn and Cropper arrived in Australia on February 20, 2008, to be Sebastian's backing band for an 18-date concert tour, the [[The Memphis Tour|Memphis Tour]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Patterson |first=Bryan |url=http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23253104-5006024,00.html |title=Happy Guy Sebastian Bares His Soul |work=Herald Sun |date=February 24, 2008 |access-date=July 7, 2011}}</ref>

Dunn is credited with performing on a version of the standard "[[I Ain't Got Nobody]]" with Jones, Cropper and [[Michel Gondry]] in Gondry's 2008 film ''[[Be Kind Rewind]]''.

==Personal life==
Dunn was married to his wife, June, until his death. They had two sons, Mike and Jeff,<ref>Nix, Don. "Memphis Man" Living High, Laying Low (1997, 2015) Sartoris Literary Group, Jackson, Mississippi. {{ISBN|978-1-941644-39-3}} p 108.</ref> and a grandson, Michael.<ref>{{cite web|author=Moody, Nekesa Mumbi|url=https://news.yahoo.com/bass-player-donald-duck-dunn-dies-tokyo-083312513.html |title=Bass Player Donald 'Duck' Dunn Dies in Tokyo |publisher=Yahoo! News |access-date=May 14, 2012}}</ref>

==Death==
On the morning of May 13, 2012, Dunn died in his sleep at age 70 after finishing his fifth double show<ref>[http://www.bluenote.co.jp/jp/artists/stax/ Blue Note Tokyo: Stax! feat. Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn & Eddie Floyd], Blue Note nightclub, Tokyo.</ref> at the [[Blue Note Tokyo|Blue Note nightclub]] in Tokyo with Cropper the night before. He had been in Japan as part of an ongoing tour with Cropper and [[Eddie Floyd]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120514063731/http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/bass-player-donald-duck-dunn-of-booker-t-and-the-mgs-dies-in-tokyo/2012/05/13/gIQAprexLU_story.html "Bass Player Donald 'Duck' Dunn of Booker T. and the MGs Dies in Tokyo"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', May 13, 2012</ref>

== Musical equipment ==

When Dunn was 16, he bought his first bass guitar, a Kay 162 electric bass.  About a year later, he acquired his first [[Fender Precision]] Bass, with sunburst body, rosewood fingerboard, and gold anodized pickguard. He lost that bass when Otis Redding and members of the Bar-Kays were killed in a plane crash, and the bass was on loan to bassist James Alexander. Dunn's second Fender bass was a 1959 Fender Precision Bass, with sunburst body, one-piece maple neck and gold anodized pickguard; he owned it until his death.<ref>{{cite book | last = Rosaci | first = Nick | title = Soul fingers : the music & life of legendary bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn | publisher = Hal Leonard | location = Milwaukee, WI | year = 2017 | isbn = 9781495052927 }}</ref> Throughout his life, Dunn believed this was a 1958 model, but after his death, his son Jeff had work done on it, and the neck was inscribed "4-59," putting the date definitively as 1959. During the 1960s, he used a nearly identical 1959 model, but it was outfitted with a [[rosewood]] fretboard. He was an avid user of thick La Bella [[flatwound|flatwound strings]], as was [[James Jamerson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.guitarstringdepot.com/store-products-760M-La-Bella-Flat-Wound-Jamerson-Electric-Bass-Strings_42689858.html |title=La Bella Flat Wound Jamerson Electric Bass Strings |publisher=GuitarStringDepot |access-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref>

While filming ''The Blues Brothers'', Dunn used a sunburst early '70s Fender Precision bass with a rosewood fretboard and a "tortoiseshell" pickguard. He also used a red 1966 Precision in some of the scenes, a bass stamped "Demo" on the back, which was later fitted with a late '60s Jazz Bass neck. It was a combination that was popular with other top-level players, including Carl Radle, and Billy Cox. This "Jazzision" became the basis for a Skyline Series signature bass made by the Chicago bass company [[Lakland]] nearly 20 years later.<ref name=lak>[http://lakland.com/44-64-custom.htm The 44-64 Custom (Vintage P w/ J Neck) Bass] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420171638/http://lakland.com/44-64-custom.htm |date=April 20, 2012 }}. [[Lakland]] website.</ref> Dunn also used a white late-70s Precision Bass when performing [[Minnie the Moocher]] with [[Cab Calloway]].

In 1980, with the popular Blues Brothers Band touring regularly, Fender gave Dunn a new bass to try, the company's first active electronics equipped model, the Precision Bass Special. His bass (serial number E0xx009) was finished in his favorite color, Candy Apple Red, with a matching headstock, and featured a one-piece maple neck, and gold hardware. He played this bass briefly, before gifting it to a friend.

In the mid-1980s, after nearly three decades, Dunn switched from Fender instruments, and became an endorser for Mississippi-based [[Peavey Electronics|Peavey]]. He played their "Dyna Bass" model &ndash; finished in his favorite red &ndash; on stage and in the studio for a number of years. Over the decades, he was given various basses by friends and admirers, which included models by [[Travis Bean]], [[Rickenbacker]], [[Gibson (guitar company)|Gibson]], custom builders, and others, but his everyday instrument was always his Precision.

In 1998, Dunn collaborated with [[Fender Musical Instruments Corporation|Fender]] to produce a signature Precision Bass: a candy apple red model based on the late 1950s style, with a gold anodized pickguard, [[Humbucker#Other noise-reducing pickup designs|split coil humbucking pickup]], maple neck, and vintage hardware for a limited production of 200 instruments. The Bass was offered only for a limited time. The Dunn family has serial numbers XXX001, XXX002, and XXX003 in their collection. #002 is currently on display at the [[Hard Rock Cafe]] in [[Orlando, Florida]].

Fellow studio legend [[Bob Glaub]] introduced Dunn to the people at Lakland, and based on his "Jazzision" bass from the Blues Brothers movie, the company's Duck Dunn signature model was released (later available as the model 44-64 Custom). Dunn played his final shows on one of these basses, and that bass remains with his son Jeff, complete with sweat streaks from his final moments of playing. Some of Dunn's basses are displayed at Hard Rock Cafe locations, some are in museums (like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland), and others are in the hands of private collectors.

Over the years, Dunn played through an [[Ampeg Portaflex]], or "Fliptop", B-15 combo (so named for its head that flipped over to store in the cabinet), as well as a Kustom 200 stack, and a Fender rig. He is best known for his use of an [[Ampeg]] SVT head and the company's matching 8×10" cabinet through his endorsement deal with Ampeg.<ref name=lak/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ampeg.com/artists/artist.php?artistID=29 |title=Artist Profile&nbsp;– Donald 'Duck' Dunn |publisher=Ampeg |access-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727025540/http://www.ampeg.com/artists/artist.php?artistID=29 |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

== Discography ==
{{Main|Donald "Duck" Dunn discography}}

== Collaborations ==
{{No sources|section|date=March 2024}}
{{div col}}
'''With [[The Rance Allen Group]]'''
* ''A Soulful Experience'' (Truth Records, 1975)

'''With [[Joan Baez]]'''
* ''[[Gulf Winds]]'' (A&M Records, 1976)
* ''[[Blowin' Away]]'' (Portrait Records, 1977)

'''With [[William Bell (singer)|William Bell]]'''
* ''The Soul of a Bell'' (Stax Records, 1967)
* ''Bound to Happen'' (Stax Records, 1969)
* ''Relating'' (Stax Records, 1974)

'''With [[David Blue (musician)|David Blue]]'''
* ''Cupid's Arrow'' (Asylum Records, 1976)

'''With [[Booker T. & the M.G.'s]]'''
* ''[[And Now!]]'' (Stax Records, 1966)
* ''[[In the Christmas Spirit]]'' (Stax Records, 1966)
* ''[[Hip Hug-Her]]'' (Stax Records, 1967)
* ''[[Doin' Our Thing]]'' (Stax Records, 1968)
* ''[[Soul Limbo]]'' (Stax Records, 1968)
* ''[[UpTight (soundtrack)|UpTight]]'' (Stax Records, 1969)
* ''[[The Booker T. Set]]'' (Stax Records, 1969)
* ''[[McLemore Avenue]]'' (Stax Records, 1970)
* ''[[Melting Pot (Booker T album)|Melting Pot]]'' (Stax Records, 1971)
* ''[[Universal Language (Booker T. & the M.G.'s album)|Universal Language]]'' (Asylum Records, 1977)
* ''[[That's the Way It Should Be]]'' (Columbia Records, 1994)

'''With [[Shirley Brown]]'''
* ''Woman to Woman'' (Truth Records, 1974)
* ''Shirley Brown'' (Arista Records, 1977)

'''With [[Jimmy Buffett]]'''
* ''[[Hot Water (album)|Hot Water]]'' (MCA Records, 1988)

'''With [[Cate Brothers]]'''
* ''In One Eye and Out the Order'' (Asylum Records, 1976)

'''With [[Eric Clapton]]'''
* ''[[Money and Cigarettes]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)
* ''[[Behind the Sun (Eric Clapton album)|Behind the Sun]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1985)

'''With [[Doug Clifford]]'''
* ''[[Cosmo (Doug Clifford album)|Cosmo]]'' (Fantasy Records, 1972)

'''With [[Rita Coolidge]]'''
* ''[[Rita Coolidge (album)|Rita Coolidge]]'' (A&M Records, 1971)

'''With [[Steve Cropper]]'''
* ''Playin' My Thang'' (MCA Records, 1981)

'''With [[Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young]]'''
* ''[[Looking Forward]]'' (Reprise Records, 1999)

'''With [[Patti Dahlstrom]]'''
* ''Livin' It Thru'' (20th Century Records, 1976)

'''With [[Joe Dassin]]'''
* ''[[Blue Country]]'' (CBS, 1979)

'''With [[Delaney & Bonnie]]'''
* ''[[Home (Delaney & Bonnie album)|Home]]'' (Stax Records, 1969)

'''With [[Bob Dylan]]'''
* ''[[Shot of Love]]'' (Columbia Records, 1981)

'''With [[Tinsley Ellis]]'''
* ''[[Fire It Up (Tinsley Ellis album)|Fire It Up]]'' (Alligator Records, 1997)

'''With [[The Emotions]]'''
* ''[[Sunshine (The Emotions album)|Sunshine]]'' (Stax Records, 1977)

'''With [[Eddie Floyd]]'''
* ''[[Knock on Wood (Eddie Floyd album)|Knock on Wood]]'' (Stax Records, 1967)
* ''Soul Street'' (Stax Records, 1974)

'''With [[John Fogerty]]'''
* ''[[Blue Moon Swamp]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1997)

'''With [[Peter Frampton]]'''
* ''[[Where I Should Be]]'' (A&M Records, 1979)

'''With [[Alan Gerber]]'''
* ''The Alan Gerber Album'' (Shelter Records, 1971)

'''With [[Richie Havens]]'''
* ''The End of the Beginning'' (A&M Records, 1976)

'''With [[Levon Helm]]'''
* ''[[Levon Helm & the RCO All-Stars]]'' (ABC Records, 1977)

'''With [[Chris Hillman]]'''
* ''Slippin' Away'' (Asylum Records, 1976)

'''With [[Albert King]]'''
* ''[[Born Under a Bad Sign]]'' (Stax Records, 1967)
* ''[[Years Gone By]]'' (Stax Records, 1969)
* ''[[Blues for Elvis – King Does the King's Things]]'' (Stax Records, 1970)
* ''[[Lovejoy (album)|Lovejoy]]'' (Stax Records, 1971)
* ''[[The Blues Don't Change]]'' (Stax Records, 1974)

'''With [[Freddie King]]'''
* ''Getting Ready'' (Shelter Records, 1971)
* ''[[Texas Cannonball]]'' (Shelter Records, 1972)

'''With [[Al Kooper]]'''
* ''White Chocolate'' (Sony Records, 2008)

'''With [[Mel and Tim]]'''
* ''Starting All Over Again'' (Stax Records, 1972)

'''With [[Stevie Nicks]]'''
* ''[[Bella Donna (album)|Bella Donna]]'' (Atco Records, 1981)

'''With [[Harry Nilsson]]'''
* ''[[Flash Harry (album)|Flash Harry]]'' (Mercury Records, 1980)

'''With [[Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers]]'''
* ''[[Damn the Torpedoes (album)|Damn the Torpedoes]]'' (MCA Records, 1979)
* ''[[Hard Promises]]'' (Backstreet Records, 1981)

'''With [[Wilson Pickett]]'''
* ''In the Midnight Hour'' (Atlantic Records, 1965)
* ''[[The Exciting Wilson Pickett]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1966)

'''With [[David Porter (musician)|David Porter]]'''
* ''Victim of the Joke? An Opera'' (Enterprise Records, 1971)

'''With [[John Prine]]'''
* ''[[Common Sense (John Prine album)|Common Sense]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1975)

'''With [[Otis Redding]]'''
* ''[[Pain in My Heart]]'' (Atco Records, 1964)
* ''[[The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads]]'' (Atco Records, 1965)
* ''[[Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul]]'' (Stax Records, 1965)
* ''[[The Soul Album]]'' (Stax Records, 1966)
* ''[[Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul]]'' (Stax Records, 1966)
* ''[[King & Queen]]'' (Stax Records, 1967)
* ''[[The Dock of the Bay (album)|The Dock of the Bay]]'' (Stax Records, 1968)

'''With [[Bruce Roberts (singer)|Bruce Roberts]]'''
* ''Bruce Roberts'' (Elektra Records, 1977)

'''With [[Leon Russell]]'''
* ''[[Will O' the Wisp (album)|Will O' the Wisp]]'' (Shelter Records, 1975)

'''With [[Leo Sayer]]'''
* ''[[Here (Leo Sayer album)|Here]]'' (Chrysalis Records, 1979)

'''With [[Guy Sebastian]]'''
* ''[[The Memphis Album]]'' (Sony BMG, 2007)

'''With [[Paul Shaffer]]'''
* ''Coast to Coast'' (Capitol Records, 1989)

'''With [[The Staple Singers]]'''
* ''Soul Folk in Action'' (Stax Records, 1968)

'''With [[Mavis Staples]]'''
* ''[[Mavis Staples (album)|Mavis Staples]]'' (Volt Records, 1969)
* ''[[Only for the Lonely]]'' (Volt Records, 1970)

'''With [[Rod Stewart]]'''
* ''[[Atlantic Crossing]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1975)
* ''[[A Night on the Town (Rod Stewart album)|A Night on the Town]]'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1976)

'''With [[Billy Swan]]'''
* ''You're OK, I'm OK'' (A&M Records, 1978)

'''With [[Carla Thomas]]'''
* ''Memphis Queen'' (Stax Records, 1969)
* ''Love Means...'' (Stax Records, 1971)

'''With [[Mickey Thomas (singer)|Mickey Thomas]]'''
* ''As Long as You Love Me'' (MCA Records, 1977)

'''With [[The Manhattan Transfer]]'''
* ''[[Pastiche (album)|Pastiche]]'' (Atlantic Records, 1978)

'''With [[Muddy Waters]]'''
* ''[[Fathers and Sons (album)|Fathers and Sons]]'' (Chess Records, 1969)

'''With [[Tony Joe White]]'''
* ''Lake Placid Blues'' (Polydor Records, 1995)

'''With [[Jerry Lynn Williams]]'''
* ''Gone'' (Warner Bros. Records, 1979)

'''With [[Bill Withers]]'''
* ''[[Just as I Am (Bill Withers album)|Just as I Am]]'' (Sussex Records, 1971)

'''With [[Neil Young]]'''
* ''[[Silver & Gold (Neil Young album)|Silver & Gold]]'' (Reprise Records, 2000)
* ''[[Are You Passionate?]]'' (Reprise Records, 2002)
{{div col end}}

==Awards==
In 1992, Dunn was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] as a member of Booker T. & the MG's.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/booker-t-and-the-mgs |title=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: 1992 Inductions |publisher=Rockhall.com |access-date=May 15, 2012}}</ref>

In 2007 Dunn<ref>{{cite web|title=Bassist Donald 'Duck' Dunn Dies at 70|url=https://variety.com/2012/music/news/bassist-donald-duck-dunn-dies-at-70-1118053941/|work=Variety|access-date=May 14, 2012}}</ref> and members of Booker T. & the MG's ([[Booker T. Jones]], [[Steve Cropper]] and [[Lewie Steinberg]]), along with Barbara Jackson, the widow of [[Al Jackson, Jr.]], were given a Lifetime Achievement [[Grammy]] award for their contributions to popular music.

In 2017 Dunn was posthumously awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Bass Player Magazine for his contributions to "the art, craft, and profession of bass playing."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/watch-donald-duck-dunns-son-jeff-accept-his-bass-player-lifetime-achievement-award |title=Watch Donald "Duck" Dunn's Son Jeff Accept His Bass Player Lifetime Achievement Award
 |publisher=bassplayer.com |access-date=October 30, 2017}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|first=Peter|last=Guralnick|author-link=Peter Guralnick|url=https://archive.org/details/sweetsoulmusicrh0000gura_g0m5|publisher=Back Bay Books|title=Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom|year=1999|isbn=978-0-316-33273-6|oclc=41950519|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|first=Nick|last=Rosaci|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35699509-soul-fingers|publisher=Hal Leonard Books|title=Soul Fingers: The Music and Life of Legendary Bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn|year=2017|isbn=978-1-495-05292-7}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category|Donald "Duck" Dunn}}
*[http://duckdunn.com Official website]
*{{IMDb name|0242551|Donald Dunn}}
*{{Find a Grave|90053524}}

{{Booker T. & the M.G.'s}}
{{1992 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
{{The Blues Brothers}}
{{Stax Records}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Donald}}
[[Category:1941 births]]
[[Category:2012 deaths]]
[[Category:American rock bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American male bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American male film actors]]
[[Category:American rhythm and blues bass guitarists]]
[[Category:American session musicians]]
[[Category:Record producers from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Tennessee]]
[[Category:Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Booker T. & the M.G.'s members]]
[[Category:Stax Records artists]]
[[Category:The Blues Brothers members]]
[[Category:20th-century American bass guitarists]]
[[Category:The Mar-Keys members]]
[[Category:Articles with quotation marks in the title]]