đź”— Share this article The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, dies aged 84 Steve Cropper served as a key member of the in-house studio band of the seminal Memphis label Stax Records. The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us 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, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville. Considered among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions. Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man. "Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release. "While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted. A reason for his passing was not disclosed. A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material. "He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure." Steve Cropper, pictured on the right, with artists Sheryl Crow and Eddie Floyd. A Storied Musical Path Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20. A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice." In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood. According to historical accounts, he was "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from late 1961 through 1970". "We would literally 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."