🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the resident musical group of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The musician, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Considered among the best studio bands in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a message. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added. A reason for his passing was not immediately known. An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with fellow musicians Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Named 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 were formed, 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice." As well as 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 his official biography, he was "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."