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

The musician, who contributed to and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the greatest backing bands in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

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

"While we grieve the loss of a family man and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside 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 "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 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."