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

Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental 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 hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, 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 productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "integral to nearly all record released by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."