The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Often cited among the best studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in 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."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
