🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the resident musical group of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The artist, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Nashville. Considered among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a statement. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material. "He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with peers Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring keyboardist 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 "integral to virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."