🔗 Share this article Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the resident musical group of the influential Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us 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 the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a message. "While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added. A cause of death was not released at this time. A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Storied Musical Path Named 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 were formed, featuring organist 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."