🔗 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 the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Nashville.

Considered among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

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

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."