🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The musician, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville. Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a release. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material. "He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with peers Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Storied Musical Path Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising organist 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970". "We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."