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

The artist, who performed on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the best backing bands in soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a deeply admired guitarist, composer, and producer whose immense talent impacted countless people around the world," his family stated in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

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

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a productive songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

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

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."