The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, musician of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died aged 84

Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained 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 are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 his official biography, he was "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."