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

The musician, who played 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.

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

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.

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

A specific cause was not disclosed.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled 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 remarked. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same riff twice."

As well as 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 "a part of virtually every record issued by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."