Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Ranked the second-best 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 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 nearly all record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
