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Legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, guitarist of the famed band Booker T & the MGs, dies at the age of 84
Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.
The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.
Widely regarded among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.
Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.
"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a statement.
"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.
A reason for his passing was not immediately known.
A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled 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 remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
A Storied Musical Path
Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.
A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."
As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.
According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".
"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."
Rita Jenkins
A financial strategist with over a decade of experience in wealth management and investment planning, dedicated to empowering others.
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