🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the resident musical group of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us 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, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message. "While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs. "He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with fellow musicians Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. An Illustrious Journey Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records 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 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to his official biography, he was "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970". "We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."