Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song 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 music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist 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 rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "integral to virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would literally 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."
