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Esteemed musician Steve Cropper, the renowned guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The guitar virtuoso, who played on and collaborated on writing the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, died recently in the city of Nashville.

Considered among the greatest supporting groups in soul music, the group Booker T. Jones and the MGs was the house 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 blues revival band The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved artist, writer, and producer whose immense talent inspired countless people around the world," his family said in a message.

"While we feel sorrow for the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we take solace knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A specific cause was not immediately known.

An associate, Eddie Gore, mentioned he was with Cropper on Tuesday in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new music.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Ranked the number two 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 were formed, 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 seen myself as a rhythm player," Cropper said in a past interview. "I enjoy the fact that I can play something over and over, while other guitar players avoid that approach. They won't even play the same riff twice."

In addition to being a guitarist, Cropper was a vastly creative songwriter, and alongside 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 "involved in the majority of record put out by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would truly spend long days in the studio," Cropper noted in an interview. "I think we had nearly 20 artists on the roster, so we had a very hectic schedule."