Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84

Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

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 were formed, consisting of organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."