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

The musician, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

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

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we find comfort knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not released at this time.

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

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

A Prolific Career

Named the number two 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 came together, featuring organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was replaced 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 rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "a part of nearly all record issued by Stax from 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."