Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted 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 were formed, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and in addition to 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 nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."
