Cornell Luther Dupree (December 19, 1942 – May 8, 2011) was an American jazz and R&B guitarist. He worked at various times with Aretha Franklin, Bill Withers, Donny Hathaway, King Curtis, and Steve Gadd, appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, and wrote a book on soul and blues guitar, Rhythm and Blues Guitar. He reportedly recorded on 2,500 sessions.

Biography

Dupree was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he graduated from I.M. Terrell High School. He began his career playing in the studio band for Atlantic Records, recording albums by Aretha Franklin (Aretha Live at Fillmore West) and King Curtis as a member of Curtis's band The King Pins (Dupree grew up with Curtis in Fort Worth). He appeared on the 1969 Lena Horne and Gábor Szabó recording Lena & Gabor and on recordings with Archie Shepp, Grover Washington Jr., Snooky Young, and Miles Davis. Dupree played guitar on Brook Benton's hit "Rainy Night in Georgia" in 1970. In December 1972, the British music magazine New Musical Express reported that Dupree, Roberta Flack, and Jerry Jemmott were injured in an auto accident in Manhattan. Dupree appeared on Joe Cocker's albums Stingray and Luxury You Can Afford. He also released solo albums such as Teasin' (1974), Cornell Dupree's Saturday Night Fever (1977), Shadow Dancing (1978), Coast to Coast (1988), Can't Get Through (1991), Child's Play (1993), Bop 'n' Blues (1995), and Uncle Funky (1998). Dupree and other East Coast jazz fusion musicians played on Van McCoy's hit 1975 single "The Hustle". In the late 1970s, Dupree formed the new jazz fusion group Stuff with Eric Gale, Richard Tee, Steve Gadd, Chris Parker, and Gordon Edwards. Dupree and Tee recorded together on many occasions. In 1989, Cornell recorded a video for guitar teacher Arlen Roth called Mastering R&B Guitar, which documented his style, technique, and influences. In 2002, Yamaha produced a signature guitar called the Cornell Dupree Model. Dupree appeared in the 2009 documentary entitled Still Bill, about the life of soul legend Bill Withers. He appeared in the film on stage playing a guitar-led version of Withers' single "Grandma's Hands"; Withers, at first sitting in the audience, ultimately joins Dupree on stage to sing the song. The scene also shows Dupree playing guitar on a stool while breathing with an oxygen tank, foreshadowing his battles with emphysema. Dupree died on May 8, 2011, at his home in Fort Worth, Texas. He had been waiting for a lung transplant as a result of emphysema.

Discography

As leader

With Gadd Gang With Rainbow With Stuff

As sideman

With Joe Cocker With Hank Crawford With Aretha Franklin With Donny Hathaway With The Joneses With Margie Joseph With King Curtis With Roland Kirk With Van McCoy With Geoff Muldaur With David "Fathead" Newman With Esther Phillips With Wilson Pickett With Lou Rawls With Archie Shepp With Stanley Turrentine With Zulema With others