The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84

Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained 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 refuse to play the same phrase twice."

As well as 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 available information, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often 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 very hectic schedule."