Steve Cropper, guitarist of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Prolific Career
Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff 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 his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
