🔗 Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the house band of the pioneering Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84. The artist, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville. Often cited among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental 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 musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement. "While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material. "He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with peers Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. An Illustrious Journey Voted 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 were formed, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to available information, he was "integral to the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970". "We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."