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

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died this past Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in soul music, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and performed on their hit cover of Soul Man.

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

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will be remembered through his music," they continued.

A cause of death was not released at this time.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the number two guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax Records 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 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 seen myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."

Not only was he a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and alongside Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "a part of the majority of record put out by Stax from late 1961 through 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had nearly 20 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."