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

The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the greatest studio bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

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

"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 cause of death was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a British music magazine in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist 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 explained in a previous conversation. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same lick 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 historical accounts, he was "involved in nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often 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 extremely demanding schedule."