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

The artist, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

A Prolific Career

Voted the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label 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 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same phrase twice."

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

According to historical accounts, he was "a part of the majority of record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."