Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Nashville.
Often cited among the best backing bands in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the runner-up for 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, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
