Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed 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. 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 also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records 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 honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same riff twice."
Not only was he 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 "involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
