🔗 Share this article

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

The musician, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Considered among the best supporting groups in soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

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

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

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.

A cause of death was not immediately known.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising keyboardist 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 rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."