The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising keyboardist 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."