The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84

The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest studio bands in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax 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 entered into 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 enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. 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 collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."