Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not released at this time.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
