The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated 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 helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of 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 thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play 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 available information, he was "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
