Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the best studio bands in soul music, the group Booker T & 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 later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, 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, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of 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 rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
In addition to being 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 nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often 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."
