The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84

Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Considered among the best studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records 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 replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same riff twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."