Spurred to greatness - Donald "Duck" Dunn

After hearing of Donald "Duck" Dunn's passing, I took some time to read his biography on his website. (At the time I first read the biography, it hadn't been updated to reflect his death.) It explained why Dunn took up the bass:

Although a grandfather he never knew played fiddle, there was no music in Duck's immediate family. "My father was a candy maker. He made peppermints and hard candies. He didn't want me to go into the music industry. He thought I would become a drug addict and die. Most parents in those days thought music was a pastime; something you did as a hobby, not a profession." Duck tried to conform: "I worked for my dad in the candy factory for a while. I also had a job with an electrical company repairing long range air raid sirens." In his heart, though, Dunn always knew where his talents lay. I picked up a ukulele when I was about 10 and I started playing bass when I was 16. I tried the guitar but it had two strings too many. It was just too complicated, man!

And then he said:

Plus, I grew up with Steve Cropper. There were so many good guitar players another one wasn't needed.