Legendary 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 renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing 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.
Widely regarded among the best studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a wonderful 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 British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 his official biography, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."
