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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired musician, songwriter, and producer whose immense talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a message.

"While we grieve the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even 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 helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."