🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the in-house studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The musician, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville. Considered among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a release. "While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added. A specific cause was not disclosed. 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 music. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with fellow musicians Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. A Storied Musical Path Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of organist 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970". "We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."