Steve Cropper, guitarist and member of Stax Records' Booker T and the M.G.'s, dies

"He was 84. Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said Cropper's family told her that Cropper died on Wednesday in Nashville. The foundation operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, located at the site of the former Stax Records, where Cropper worked for years. A cause of death was not immediately known. Longtime associate Eddie Gore said he was with Cropper on Tuesday at a rehabilitation facility in Nashville, where Cropper had been after a recent fall."

"The guitarist, songwriter and record producer was not known for flashy playing, but his spare, catchy licks and solid rhythm chops helped define Memphis soul music. At a time when it was common for white musicians to co-opt the work of Black artists and make more money from their songs, Cropper was that rare white artist willing to keep a lower profile and collaborate."

Steve Cropper, the lean, soulful guitarist and songwriter who anchored Booker T. and the M.G.'s at Stax Records, died in Nashville at age 84. Cropper co-wrote classics including "Green Onions," "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" and "In the Midnight Hour." He helped define Memphis soul with spare, catchy licks, solid rhythm playing and understated riffs. Cropper maintained collaborative relationships across racial lines and kept a lower public profile. His name was called out in Sam & Dave's "Soul Man" and he later played with The Blues Brothers. His family informed the Soulsville Foundation; a cause of death was not immediately known.

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