Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
As well as 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly 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."