Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.
Considered among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family said in a message.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.
A cause of death was not immediately known.
A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a good human," Gore commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
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 founded, consisting of organist 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote 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 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."
