The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed 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 Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Considered among the finest studio bands in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 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 deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not released at this time.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked 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 formed, featuring keyboardist 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "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 in addition to 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 "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
