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Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The musician, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best backing bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

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

"Steve was a cherished artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched generations 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 noted.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper began working at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, consisting of 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 considered myself to be a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same phrase twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he helped write Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "involved in nearly all record put out by Stax from late 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."