Nashville, Tennessee - Steve Cropper, the Booker T. & the MG's guitarist and key songwriter and producer for the Memphis soul sound of Stax Records, has died aged 84, his family said.

Cropper, who co-wrote soul classics including In the Midnight Hour and (Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay, died peacefully on Wednesday in Nashville, according to a family statement posted on his official Facebook page.

"Steve was a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world," the statement said.

"Steve's influence on American music is immeasurable."

At Stax Records, Cropper accompanied artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, and Eddie Floyd.

He was a member of Booker T. & the MG's, as well as a producer and songwriter.

He co-wrote the group's Green Onions, Soul Limbo, and Time Is Tight, as well as Redding's hits (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, and Mr. Pitiful.

In 2023, Rolling Stone magazine listed Cropper 45th among its 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. In 1996, British magazine MOJO ranked him the second-best guitarist, after Jimi Hendrix.

"Cropper has been the secret ingredient in some of the greatest rock and soul songs," Rolling Stone said.

"Think of the introduction to Sam and Dave's Soul Man, the explosive bent notes in Booker T.'s Green Onions, or the filigreed guitar fills in Redding's (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay – they all bear Cropper's signature sound, the quintessence of soul guitar."

Cropper was also the lead guitarist for the Blues Brothers, the band formed by comedians John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd.

He contributed to the duo's double platinum album, Briefcase Full of Blues, released in 1978, as well as four other albums.

He also appeared in John Landis's film The Blues Brothers (1980) and its sequel, Blues Brothers 2000 (1998).

Cropper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of Booker T. and the M.G.'s.