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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the iconic band Booker T & the MGs, has left us at the age of 84.

The musician, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and the hit track In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Often cited among the finest studio bands in soul music, the four-piece band Booker T & the MGs was the core musical unit of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax Records and is best remembered for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and played on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a cherished musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent inspired generations around the world," his family expressed in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever 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 just the day before in Nashville, where the guitarist had been working on new songs.

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

A Prolific Career

Voted the runner-up for guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper first found employment at Stax Records in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs came together, consisting of organist 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 past interview. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something repeatedly, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They refuse to play the same phrase twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a prolific 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 "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through the end of 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."