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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 musician, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is most famous for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted generations around the world," his family said in a release.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a family man and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A specific cause was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new songs.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on 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 phrase twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "integral to the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

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