🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper was part of the house band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Often cited among the greatest backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement. "While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned 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 kind human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice." Not only was he 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 "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970". "We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."