Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84
The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The artist, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.
Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent touched generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."
An Illustrious Journey
Named 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 were founded, comprising 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 remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".
"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."
