Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist 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 performed on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired millions of lives 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 continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
