The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Considered among the finest backing bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the resident studio band 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 late 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family said in a statement.
"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper explained 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 are reluctant to repeat the same phrase 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 helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
