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Steve Cropper, the celebrated guitarist with Booker T and the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The artist, 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, died on Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the finest studio bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the resident studio band of the historic Memphis label Stax and is best remembered for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late '70s and played on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

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

A specific cause was not immediately known.

A friend, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating fresh material.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a music periodical in 1996, Cropper started his career at Stax in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were founded, comprising organist 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 thought of myself as a player who focuses on rhythm," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on 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."

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

According to historical accounts, he was "involved in the majority of record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would literally spend marathon sessions in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a very hectic schedule."