Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the best supporting groups in soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label 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 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
