The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and co-wrote 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 supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, 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 wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."