The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who played 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 recently in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Named 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 were founded, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
