Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "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 started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 "involved in nearly all record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
