Steve Cropper, legendary guitarist for Booker T and the MG's, dies aged 84
Steve Cropper in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2020. (AP: Mark Humphrey)
In short:
The man who co-wrote hits including Green Onions, and (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay has died.
Steve Cropper was 84.
He is best known as the legendary guitarist with Booker T and the MG’s.
Steve Cropper, the guitarist and songwriter who helped anchor the celebrated Memphis backing band Booker T and the MG's, has died aged 84.
The musician also co-wrote the classics Green Onions, (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour.
Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said Mr Cropper's family told her that he died in Nashville on Wednesday. The foundation operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, located at the site of the former Stax Records, where Cropper worked for years.
The cause of death was not immediately known.
Longtime associate Eddie Gore said: "He's such a good human."
"We were blessed to have him, for sure," he added.
The guitarist, songwriter and record producer was not known for flashy playing, but his spare, catchy licks and solid rhythm chops helped define Memphis soul music.
'Play it, Steve!'
Steve Cropper's very name was immortalised in the 1967 smash Soul Man, recorded by Sam & Dave.
Midway through the track singer Sam Moore calls out, "Play it, Steve," as Cropper pulls off a tight, ringing riff, a slide sound that Cropper used a Zippo lighter to create.
The exchange was re-enacted in the late 1970s when Cropper joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, asked once about Cropper: said simply: "Perfect, man."
Steve Cropper performs with the Blues Brothers Band in Washington in 2016. (AP: Andrew Harnik)
Steve Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T and the MG's.
Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 39th on its 100 Greatest Guitarists list, describing him as "the secret ingredient in some of the greatest rock and soul songs".
The guitarist was in the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers and its follow-up, Blues Brothers 2000, portraying The Colonel in the Blues Brothers band. In real life, he toured with them.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, and two years later received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
Cropper continued recording into his later years, including 2024's Friendlytown, which was nominated for a Grammy. Earlier this year, Cropper received the Tennessee Governor's Arts Award, the state's highest honour in the arts.
AP