Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed 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 Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the second-best 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 were founded, comprising organist 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally 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 extremely demanding schedule."
