Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, has died 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 musician, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent touched generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

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 was in the process of creating fresh material.

"He's such a good human," Gore said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was entered into 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 past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "involved in nearly all record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."