The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician 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 passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.

"He's such a kind human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."

A Storied Musical Path

Named the number two 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, consisting of organist 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same riff twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."