Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined 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 cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, 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 explained 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 lick twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 "a part of virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."