Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records 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 succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "integral to virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
