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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 guitar virtuoso, who performed on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in Music City, Nashville.

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

Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.

A specific cause was not immediately known.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, featuring keyboardist 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to 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 his official biography, he was "involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."