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Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who played on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville.

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

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

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched generations around the world," his family stated in a message.

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

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

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

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

"I've always considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

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