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Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has passed away at the age of 84.

The artist, who contributed to and collaborated on writing Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, passed away on Wednesday in Nashville.

Considered among the finest supporting groups in soul music, the group the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax/Volt and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper went on to join the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a deeply admired artist, writer, and producer whose profound talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a release.

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

A reason for his passing was not released at this time.

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on fresh material.

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

A Storied Musical Path

Named the second-best guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising keyboardist 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 explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They won't even play the same lick twice."

As well as a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific songwriter, and besides Dock of the Bay and In the Midnight Hour, he co-wrote Eddie Floyd's hit Knock on Wood.

According to available information, he was "integral to virtually every record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a extremely demanding schedule."