The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever 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 was developing new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to 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 virtually every record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
