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

The musician, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's 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 studio bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not immediately known.

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 commented. "We were lucky to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising 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 rhythm player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on 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 phrase twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."