Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched generations around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we grieve 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 disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."
