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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The artist, who played on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives 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 added.

A specific cause was not released at this time.

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

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

A Prolific Career

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of organist 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 explained 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 lick twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and besides 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 "integral to virtually every record released by Stax from late 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 nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."