🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records. Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84. The musician, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville. Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a release. "While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted. A specific cause was not released at this time. A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material. "He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. An Illustrious Journey Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. 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 collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to available information, he was "a part of the majority of 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 we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."