The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned 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 co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records 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 entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
