The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and 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 played on 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 Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the second-best 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, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same lick twice."
Not only was he 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 available information, he was "integral to virtually every record issued by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
