The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned 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 commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, featuring 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days 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."
