Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the best studio bands in soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential 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 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 "integral to virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
