The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
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.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, 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, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
