Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
