Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died 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, passed away this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records 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 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched generations around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides 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 "a part of the majority of record put out 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 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
