🔗 Share this article

Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.

A cause of death was not released at this time.

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

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

A Prolific Career

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff 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 helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

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

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."