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

The artist, who played on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the best supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known 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 successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

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

"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same lick twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "integral to nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."