"Guitarist, producer, and songwriter Steve Cropper, who shaped the sound of Memphis soul as a member of the Stax Records house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, has died. The Associated Press reports. Soulsville Foundation president and CEO Pat Mitchell Worley told the AP that Cropper's family confirmed the news to her, but did not share a cause of death. He was 84."
"Cropper was an original member of the Stax Records house band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, alongside organist Booker T. Jones, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, and drummer Al Jackson Jr. His guitar can be heard on recordings by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and Carla and Rufus Thomas. In addition to backing up other artists, Booker T. and the M.G.'s released instrumental records under their own name-the best known of which is 1962's "Green Onions.""
"Cropper was born in Missouri and raised in Memphis, where he first picked up a guitar at the age of 14. In high school, he played in a band called the Royal Spades, who were signed to Stax Records when it was still called Satellite Records. Changing their name to the Mar-Keys, the outfit became the fledgling label's first house band. They landed a hit single in 1961 with "Last Night.""
Steve Cropper shaped Memphis soul as a guitarist, producer, and songwriter and died at age 84, with family confirming the death and no cause disclosed. Born in Missouri and raised in Memphis, he picked up a guitar at 14 and performed in the Royal Spades, later the Mar-Keys, who scored a 1961 hit with "Last Night." He served as Stax Records A&R director and co-founded Booker T. & the M.G.'s, whose "Green Onions" reached No. 3. Cropper played on recordings by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, and others, and co-wrote "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay," "Knock on Wood," and "In the Midnight Hour." Booker T. & the M.G.'s were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992.
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