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

The musician, who performed on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

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

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a message.

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

A specific cause was not released at this time.

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

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

An Illustrious Journey

Named the number two 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 were formed, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 explained in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same riff twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside 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 virtually every record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."