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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 contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Music City, Nashville.

Often cited among the finest supporting groups in soul and R&B, the quartet Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the influential Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family expressed in a message.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we take solace knowing that Steve will endure through his music," they added.

A cause of death was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

A Prolific Career

Named the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records 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 replaced 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 player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper said in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same phrase twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and in addition to Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he collaborated on Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to his official biography, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists signed to the label, so we had a pretty busy schedule."