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

The musician, who played on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best backing bands in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a release.

"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical 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 replaced 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 said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, 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 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 historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."