Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist 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 artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, featuring organist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."
