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Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched generations around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

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

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative 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 "integral to virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."