The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has passed away aged 84

The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax 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 succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into 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 past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same phrase twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside 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 "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions 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."