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

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family said in a message.

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

A reason for his passing was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

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

A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring keyboardist 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 thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "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 riff 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 collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."