🔗 Share this article

Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The artist, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not immediately known.

A colleague, 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."

A Storied Musical Path

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally 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."