🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Considered among the greatest backing bands in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release. "While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted. A specific cause was not disclosed. An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs. "He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Named the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same lick twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 "integral to virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970". "We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."