Steve Cropper, member of Booker T and the MGs, dies at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The musician, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.
A specific cause was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same riff twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through year end 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 very hectic schedule."
