🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper was part of the resident musical group of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. 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 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, died this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Widely regarded among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message. "While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added. A reason for his passing was not immediately known. A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music. "He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with fellow musicians Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Prolific Career Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964. The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," 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 refuse to play the same riff twice." As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."