Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax 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 performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax 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 replaced 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 guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
