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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The artist, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

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

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the runner-up for 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, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to 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 "a part of the majority of record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."