Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."