Steve Cropper, guitarist of Booker T and the MGs, has died aged 84
Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.
The musician, who performed on and co-wrote 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.
Widely regarded among the finest backing bands in the history of soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.
"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a release.
"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.
A reason for his passing was not disclosed.
A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.
"He's such a wonderful human," Gore said. "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 began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs were formed, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.
The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same phrase twice."
In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."
