đź”— Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84 Steve Cropper formed the backbone of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84. The guitar virtuoso, 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, died on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville. Considered among the best studio bands in soul music, the group 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 later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man. "Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement. "While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added. A cause of death was not released at this time. A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music. "He's such a good human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with peers Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Storied Musical Path Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs came together, featuring 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice." Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides 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 "involved in nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970". "We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."