Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Considered among the finest backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
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 founded, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained 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 phrase 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
