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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The artist, who played on 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.

Often cited among the best studio bands in the history of soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired countless people around the world," his family expressed in a release.

"While we mourn the loss of a family man and friend, we are consoled knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they noted.

A reason for his passing was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated 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 lucky to have him, for sure."

A Prolific Career

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "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 refuse to play the same riff twice."

In addition to being 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 available information, he was "a part of virtually every record issued by Stax from 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."