The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
