The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated 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 Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring 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 considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."