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

The artist, who contributed to 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 the city of Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, 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 honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "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 won't even play the same lick twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."