The iconic guitarist 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 passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people 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 be remembered through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "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 lick twice."
In addition to being 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 historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
