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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 artist, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent inspired generations around the world," his family said in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded 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 rhythm player," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would truly spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."