Steve Cropper, the legendary Blues Brothers member and Booker T. & the MG’s guitarist, has died at the age of 84, the Soulsville Foundation has announced. The iconic guitarist was considered one of the greatest of all time.
Pat Mitchell Worley, president and CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, said Cropper’s family told her that the guitarist died on Wednesday in Nashville, per the Associated Press.
It operates the Stax Museum of American Soul Music in Memphis, on the grounds of the former Stax Records, where Cropper worked for many years and cemented his place in music history.
As of today, no cause of death has been immediately known. Steve Cropper’s longtime associate, Eddie Gore, stated that he was with the legendary guitarist at a rehabilitation clinic on Tuesday. Cropper had a recent fall.
Gore stated that Steve had been working on new music, calling the musician “such a good human” and that they were “blessed to have him.”
Steve Cropper, the legendary ‘Blues Brothers’ guitarist, dead at 84
Born on October 21, 1941, in Dora, Missouri, Steve Cropper moved to Memphis with his family at the age of nine. Sox years later, he began playing the guitar. In Memphis, black church music was a major influence, and eventually, he began working as a musician.
Cropper was perhaps not the most flashy guitar player, but used cathy licks and rhythm chops which came to define the soul music of Memphis. In an era when racism was still a major issue, Cropper was one of the rare white artists who didn’t mind keeping a low profile while collaborating with many black soul musicians.
Cropper played guitar on many legendary songs, among them the 1967 Sam & Dave superhit “Soul Man.” In fact, singer Sam Moore even called out, “Play it, Steve,” as the guitarist blasted out a riff.
It was reenacted in the late 1970s when he joined the John Belushi-Dan Aykroyd act The Blues Brothers, playing a Soul Man cover.
“I listen to the other musicians and the singer,” Cropper told the Associated Press in 2020. “I’m not listening to just me. 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.”
Named the second-greatest guitarist in history
Steve Cropper had huge success as a writer as well. He co-wrote Booker T. & the MG’s super hit Green Onions, considered one of the most popular soul songs in history, as well as Otis Redding’s hit (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay. Other co-writing credits include Wilson Pickett’s In the Midnight Hour and Don Covay’s Seesaw. He also worked as a backing guitarist for the likes of John Fogerty, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan.
In 1996, British music magazine Mojo named Cropper the second-greatest guitarist in history behind Jimi Hendrix.
“Cropper puts everything he’s got, which is considerable, at the disposal of the artist and the song: metronome-crisp timing; deadly-accurate chops; earth-moving bottom-line riffs; sharp, nasty little licks and grace notes. His solos never outstay their welcome or leave you wanting less,” it read.
Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones once called him “Perfect,” while guitar star Joe Bonamassa said, “If you haven’t heard the name Steve Cropper, you’ve heard him in song.”
Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame in 1992. He is survived by his wife, Angel, and four children.
Rest in peace, Steve Cropper.
