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

The musician, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, died recently in the city of Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a release.

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

A cause of death was not disclosed.

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

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

A Prolific Career

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

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising keyboardist 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They refuse to play the same lick 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 his official biography, he was "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."