Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.
"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"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 British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring organist 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
