The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the best backing bands in soul music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not released at this time.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked 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."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on 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 late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."