Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family said 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 released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 available information, he was "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."