Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84

The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same lick twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

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

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."