🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper was part of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville. Widely regarded among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a statement. "While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not released at this time. A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs. "He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with fellow musicians Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice." As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside 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 "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970". "We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."