The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who played on 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 the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "integral to nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day 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."
