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

The artist, who performed on and co-wrote Otis Redding's Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died on Wednesday in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest backing bands in soul and R&B, the four-piece band the MGs was the house band of the groundbreaking Memphis label Stax and is primarily known for their classic 1962 track Green Onions.

Cropper also joined the blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their popular rendition of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary 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 cause of death was not released at this time.

A friend, Eddie Gore, stated he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was developing new music.

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

A Storied Musical Path

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

A year later, the MGs came together, comprising organist Booker T Jones, drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewie Steinberg - who was succeeded by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1964.

The band was honored by inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.

"I've always thought of myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper remarked in a past interview. "I get off on the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players wouldn't consider it. They won't even play the same riff twice."

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

According to available information, he was "involved in virtually every record released by Stax from late 1961 through year end 1970".

"We would often spend 15 hours a day in the studio," Cropper said. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a pretty busy schedule."