Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us 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, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records 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 entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same lick twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."