🔗 Share this article Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84 Steve Cropper was part of the resident musical group of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen 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 soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions. Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover 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 message. "While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned 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 blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, right, with fellow musicians Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Prolific Career Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same lick twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970". "We would truly spend long days 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."