Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84

Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release.

"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same riff twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "integral to the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."