The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to 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 the city of Nashville.
Considered among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
