Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The artist, who played 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 Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest studio bands in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed 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 said in a statement.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a kind 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 UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist 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 guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
