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Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and co-wrote 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.

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

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the runner-up for 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, comprising keyboardist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."

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

According to historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."