🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the influential 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 played on and helped pen 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 the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a statement. "While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. An Illustrious Journey Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase 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 "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970". "We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."