Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician 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 contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Nashville.
Considered among the greatest backing bands in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a release.
"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 friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same lick 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to available information, he was "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
