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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, passed away recently in Music City, Nashville.

Widely regarded among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the quartet the MGs was the house band of the historic Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

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

A cause of death was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new music.

"He's such a wonderful human," Gore commented. "We were fortunate 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 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 rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They refuse to play the same lick twice."

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

According to historical accounts, he was "integral to nearly all record put out by Stax from 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."