Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of 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 deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
