The soulful, lean guitarist and songwriter, Steve Cropper, who played a pivotal role in anchoring the legendary Memphis backing band Booker T. and the M.G.'s at Stax Records and co-wrote classics such as "Green Onions," "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay," and "In the Midnight Hour," has passed away at the age of 84. The president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, Pat Mitchell Worley, shared that Cropper's family informed her of his passing on Wednesday in Nashville. The cause of death is yet to be disclosed.
Longtime associate Eddie Gore recalled his visit to Cropper at a rehabilitation facility in Nashville, where he had been since a recent fall. "He was such a good human," Gore said. "We were blessed to have him, for sure."
Cropper's name became immortalized in the 1967 hit "Soul Man" recorded by Sam & Dave, with Sam Moore calling out "Play it, Steve!" as Cropper played a tight, ringing riff. This exchange was reenacted when Cropper joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act "The Blues Brothers" and played on their cover of "Soul Man."
In a 2020 interview with The Associated Press, Cropper discussed his career and how he mastered the art of filling gaps with an essential lick or two. "I listen to the other musicians and the singer," he said. "I make sure I'm sounding OK before we start the session. Once we've presented the song, then I listen to the song and the way they interpret it. And I play around all that stuff. That's what I do. That's my style."
The Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once described Cropper as "perfect, man," while guitar virtuoso Joe Bonamassa said on a YouTube instructional video that Cropper's moves are often copied. "If you haven't heard the name Steve Cropper, you've heard him in song," Bonamassa said.
Born near Dora, Missouri, Cropper moved with his family to Memphis when he was 9 and got his first mail-order guitar at age 14. Chuck Berry, Jimmy Reed, and Chet Atkins were among his early influences. As a Stax artist before the label was even called Stax, he soon formed Booker T. and the M.G.'s with keyboardist Booker T. Jones, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, and drummer Al Jackson. The racially integrated band was so admired that even non-Stax artists recorded with them, notably Wilson Pickett.
Inspired by gospel songs, Cropper helped write the secular standard "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" after hearing the line "I'll see my Jesus in the midnight hour" by Pickett on a gospel recording. The song was completed shortly before Otis Redding's death in a plane crash in 1967 and became a No. 1 hit in 1968.
Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T. and the M.G.'s and played in an all-star tribute at Madison Square Garden to Bob Dylan that year. Al Jackson died in 1975, Dunn in 2012, while Jones is the only surviving member of the band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Cropper 39th on its 100 Greatest Guitarists list, calling him "the secret ingredient in some of the greatest rock and soul songs."
