Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."