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

The artist, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away this past Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the influential Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent inspired millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

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

A reason for his passing was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the second-best guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, consisting of organist 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."

In addition to being 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 his official biography, he was "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 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 very hectic schedule."