Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
Esteemed musician 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 contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Named the second-best 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, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to 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 "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
