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Steve Cropper, the renowned 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 Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the second-best 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 were founded, consisting of organist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."

In addition to being 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 historical accounts, he was "integral to the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

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