🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records. 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, succumbed on Wednesday in Nashville. Often cited among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and 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 went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message. "While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued. A cause of death was not released at this time. An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, featuring keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper explained 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 won't even 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 collaborated on 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 1970". "We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."