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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The musician, 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, passed away on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

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

Cropper went on to join the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we grieve the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they added.

A cause of death was not disclosed.

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Ranked the runner-up for 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 were formed, comprising 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 remarked in a previous conversation. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to historical accounts, he was "integral to nearly all record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day 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."