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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The artist, who performed on and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Nashville.

Considered among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted millions of lives around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was entered into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play 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 "involved in the majority of record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."