Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Often cited among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
