🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper was part of the house band of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us 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 this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Considered among the best backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family said in a message. "While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with fellow musicians Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Named the second-best 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, featuring 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same riff twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote 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 truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."