🔗 Share this article Legendary 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 house band of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The musician, 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 Nashville. Widely regarded among the finest backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax 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 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued. A specific cause was not immediately known. A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned 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 commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. An Illustrious Journey Named 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 came together, 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper said 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 won't even play the same riff twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides 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 the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."