Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The artist, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment 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 entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
