Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A specific cause was not disclosed.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising keyboardist 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
