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

The guitar virtuoso, who contributed to and helped pen the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the finest backing bands in soul music, the quartet Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the core musical unit of the historic Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family stated in a release.

"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 friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

"He's such a wonderful 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 music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring 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 player," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."

As well as 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 historical accounts, he was "a part of nearly all record released by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists signed to the label, so we had a very hectic schedule."