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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The musician, who played on and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a release.

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

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper first found employment at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."