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

The musician, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt 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 played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations 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 live forever through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

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

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

A Storied Musical Path

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

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 enjoy 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."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "integral to virtually every record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."