Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84

Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax 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 late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff 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 collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."