Steve Cropper, member 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 left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Nashville.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched generations around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was inducted 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 previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase 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 helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "involved in nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
