The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
