Steve Cropper, member 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 seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career 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 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, 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 vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
