Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84

Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died 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, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered 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 hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax 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 entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."

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

According to available information, he was "involved in nearly all record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."