Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who played on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best studio bands in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A specific cause 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 fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, 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 explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."