Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed 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 Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned 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 lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to 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 "involved in nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through year end 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."
