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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed recently in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best studio bands in soul and R&B, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family stated in a statement.

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

A specific cause was not disclosed.

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

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

A Prolific Career

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

A year later, the MGs were founded, featuring 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 considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive 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 historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."