Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest backing bands in the history of soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched generations around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication 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 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 guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."
Not only was he 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 "involved in nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
