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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who performed 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.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in the history of soul music, the group the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of keyboardist 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 previous conversation. "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 vastly creative songwriter, and in addition to 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 "a part of nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."