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

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Nashville.

Often cited among the best supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations around the world," his family said 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 released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

"He's such a good human," Gore said. "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 the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on 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 lick 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 available information, he was "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."