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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated 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 the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the finest backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked 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 lick twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."