Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Considered among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not released at this time.
An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.
"He's such a kind human," Gore remarked. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label 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 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 player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick 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 available information, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
