Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking 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 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched generations around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication 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 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase 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 available information, he was "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend long days 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."
