Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us 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 on Wednesday in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the finest 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 classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
