🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville. Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a message. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued. A cause of death was not released at this time. An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with peers Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment 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 entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same lick twice." As well as 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 his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970". "We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."