Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked 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 came together, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "integral to nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
