Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group 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 extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 virtually every record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
