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

The musician, who played on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.

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

A reason for his passing was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

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

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of 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 guitarist," 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 riff 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 helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."