Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act 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 extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the number two 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 were formed, featuring 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 enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
