Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and helped pen 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.
Considered among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family said in a statement.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of keyboardist 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 rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
