🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in 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 historic Memphis label Stax/Volt 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 '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a release. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. An associate, Eddie Gore, stated 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 remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with peers Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Storied Musical Path Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice." As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to available information, he was "involved in virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970". "We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."