🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away 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. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The artist, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in the city of Nashville. Often cited among the finest backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a release. "While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. A friend, 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 commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964. The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. "I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same riff twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to available information, he was "involved in virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."