The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Nashville.
Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched generations around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label 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 replaced 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside 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 "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
