Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away aged 84

The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, 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 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "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 won't even play the same phrase twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."