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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, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the finest backing bands in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose profound talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a message.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax 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 succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always considered myself to be a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."