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

The artist, who contributed to and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.

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

A specific cause was not released at this time.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

An Illustrious Journey

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

A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring 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 remarked in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."