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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who performed 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 Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family said in a release.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

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 number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "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."

In addition to being 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 "integral to the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."