🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the resident musical group of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Widely regarded among the greatest backing bands in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement. "While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added. A specific cause was not released at this time. An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music. "He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with peers Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Prolific Career Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964. The band was honored by inclusion in 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 previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same phrase twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970". "We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."