🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the house band of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Widely regarded among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message. "While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added. A reason for his passing was not immediately known. A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with peers Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Storied Musical Path Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax 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 replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964. The band was entered 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 get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970". "We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."