The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked 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 came together, 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
