Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away 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 recently in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
