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

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Considered among the greatest studio bands in soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release.

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

A cause of death was not disclosed.

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

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

A Prolific Career

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase 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 available information, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."