The iconic guitarist Steve Cropper, member of the soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84

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

The artist, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.

A cause of death was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.

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

A Prolific Career

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

A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally 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 extremely demanding schedule."