Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84

The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing 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.

Considered among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records 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 honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same phrase twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 "integral to nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."