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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest backing bands in the history of soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

"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 cause of death was not released at this time.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled 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 said. "We were fortunate to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper first found employment 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 guitarist," Cropper explained 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 refuse to play the same lick twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "involved in nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."