🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84. The artist, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Nashville. Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message. "While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added. A specific cause was not released at this time. A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs. "He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Eddie Floyd and Sheryl Crow. An Illustrious Journey Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, featuring 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same phrase twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970". "We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."