Booker T. and the M.G.’s and Blues Brothers Guitarist Was 84

Steve Cropper, the guitarist, songwriter and producer who made his mark with bands like the Blues Brothers and Booker T. and the M.G.’s, and who helped write classic hits like “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” has died. He was 84.

Cropper died “peacefully” in Nashville on Wednesday, Dec. 3, his family announced in a statement shared to Facebook. No cause of death was given.

“Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world,” the statement read. “A Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Grammy Award winner, and Songwriters Hall of Fame honoree, Steve’s influence on American music is immeasurable.”

The statement continued, saying that Cropper was a beloved husband to his wife Angel, and father to kids Stephen, Ashley, Cameron and Andrea, and his loved ones “find comfort knowing that Steve will live forever through his music.”

“Every note he played, every song he wrote, and every artist he inspired ensures that his spirit and artistry will continue to move people for generations,” the statement read. “The family thanks everyone for their love, support, and respect for their privacy during this difficult time.”

Cropper’s prolific career includes co-writes on a number of iconic songs, including Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay,” on which he also played guitar, “Knock on Wood” by Eddie Floyd, and “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett, all No. 1 R&B singles.

Born on Oct. 21, 1941 on a farm in Missouri, Cropper moved with his family to Memphis at 9 years old, and got his first guitar in the mail five years later, according to his biography.

He was a founding member of Booker T. and the M.G.’s in 1962, the same year the group — one of the first racially integrated rock groups — released the enduring single “Green Onions.”

The group served as the house band at the legendary soul label Stax Records, and when Sam & Dave singer Sam Moore shouts, “Play it, Steve!” on the hit “Soul Man,” he’s referring to Cropper (Cropper would later use the famous shoutout as inspiration for his own record label, Play It, Steve! Records).

Cropper was “involved in virtually every record issued by Stax from the fall of 1961 through year end 1970,” according to his website.

In the late 1970s, he began working with the Blues Brothers, the band formed by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi on Saturday Night Live. He appeared in the beloved 1980 movie of the same name as Steve “The Colonel” Cropper, who in the film was a member of the fictional group Murph and the Magic Tones.

After Belushi’s death in 1982, Cropped continued to play with the Blues Brothers Band, and also picked back up his solo career, which he’d launched on Stax in 1969. 

In more recent years, he’d worked on records with stars like Paul Simon, Ringo Starr and Elton John, and also appeared in the HBO docuseries Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A. in 2024.

“I don’t ever remember having a bad show. I’ve had records that went out to market and didn’t sell, so I guess I failed there, but the records themselves have been pretty clean and spot-on to me,” he told Total Guitar in 2024. “I don’t release junk, not with my name on it. It has to be quality stuff. It might not sell, but I’m happy with it. I don’t have any regrets.”