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Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The musician, who performed 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.

Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

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

A year later, the MGs were founded, 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 thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same lick twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside 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 "a part of nearly all record issued by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."