Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version 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 statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, 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 just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of 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 rhythm player," 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 won't even play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
