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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died 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 the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the best studio bands in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family said in a message.

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

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of 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 considered myself to be a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

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

According to available information, he was "involved in nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."