🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The musician, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville. Often cited among the best backing bands in soul music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched 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 continued. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material. "He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with fellow musicians Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 the majority of record released by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."