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

The artist, who played on and helped pen Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in Nashville.

Widely regarded among the best backing bands in the history of soul music, the four-piece band the MGs was the resident studio band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the late 1970s and featured on their hit cover of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent impacted generations around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a loved one and companion, we are consoled knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A colleague, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing fresh material.

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

A Prolific Career

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper began working at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, 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 thought of myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They are reluctant to repeat the same riff twice."

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

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

"We would literally spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had a roster of artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."