Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and 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 Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the best supporting groups in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 available information, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
