Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away 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, died recently in Nashville.
Often cited among the finest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I take pride in 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."
As well as 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
