Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
As well as 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 his official biography, he was "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
