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The legendary guitarist Steve Cropper, the acclaimed guitarist with the seminal soul group Booker T & the MGs, has died at the age of 84.

The artist, who contributed to and co-wrote the classic song Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay and Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour, succumbed on Wednesday in Nashville.

Considered among the best backing bands in soul music, the group Booker T & the MGs was the house band of the influential Memphis label Stax and is most famous for their 1962 instrumental track Green Onions.

Cropper later became a member of the comedy music group The Blues Brothers in the 1970s and featured on their successful version of Soul Man.

"Steve was a beloved guitarist, composer, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched countless people around the world," his family said in a statement.

"While we mourn the loss of a husband, father, and friend, we find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music," they continued.

A reason for his passing was not disclosed.

A friend, Eddie Gore, recalled he was with Cropper recently in Nashville, where the guitarist was in the process of creating new songs.

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

An Illustrious Journey

Voted the number two guitarist of all time by a UK publication in 1996, Cropper started his career at the Stax label in 1961 at the age of 20.

A year later, the MGs were formed, featuring 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 seen myself as a rhythm guitarist," Cropper explained in a previous conversation. "I take pride in the fact that I can play something consistently, while other guitar players don't want to even know about that. They are reluctant to repeat 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 "a part of virtually every record released by Stax from the fall of 1961 through 1970".

"We would literally spend long days in the studio," Cropper once recalled. "I think we had 17 or 18 artists we worked with, so we had a pretty busy schedule."