Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a message.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not released at this time.
A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before 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
Voted the number two 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 founded, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even 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 co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
