Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the number two 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 came together, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 seen 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 won't even play the same lick twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
