Legendary 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, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, featuring organist 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to 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 "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."
