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

The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

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

A cause of death was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring organist 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 thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside 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 "integral to the majority of record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."