Steve Cropper, the quietly brilliant guitarist whose crisp lines defined the sound of Memphis soul and helped shape some of the most enduring records in American music, died Monday in Nashville at 84. His family confirmed his passing in a statement, remembering him as “a beloved musician, songwriter, and producer whose extraordinary talent touched millions of lives around the world.” A cause of death has not been released.
Cropper’s understated presence belied an enormous musical reach. As the house guitarist for Stax Records during its creative peak, he played on some of the most influential recordings of the 1960s, including Sam & Dave’s “Soul Man,” Booker T. & the M.G.’s “Green Onions,” Wilson Pickett’s “In the Midnight Hour,” and Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay.” Co-writing several of those hits, Cropper became central to what became known as the Memphis soul sound. Pat Mitchell Worley, president of the Soulsville Foundation, said Cropper’s style “shaped the very language of soul music.”
Recognition for Cropper’s work echoed beyond Memphis. Rolling Stone has long championed him as one of the pillars of modern guitar playing, ranking him No. 45 on its list of the 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. The magazine once wrote that “Cropper has been the secret ingredient in some of the greatest rock and soul songs,” a nod to both his technical restraint and the emotional heft he brought to even the simplest musical phrases. His fills on Redding records, the punch of his lines behind Sam & Dave, and the unmistakable slide-like attack that introduced “Soul Man” helped cement him as a musician who elevated songs without ever dominating them.
Cropper understood that supporting role instinctively. “I don’t care about being centre stage,” he said in an interview years later. “I’m a band member, always been a band member.” His philosophy was rooted not only in humility but in his view of the guitar as a tool for conversation rather than spectacle, an approach that influenced players from Keith Richards to John Mayer.
His partnership with Otis Redding became one of the defining collaborations at Stax. When Redding arrived at the label as an unknown aspiring singer in the early 1960s, Cropper recognised his raw power almost immediately. Their songwriting relationship grew quickly, culminating in “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” which Redding began writing on a houseboat in Sausalito. Cropper helped shape the arrangement and added the song’s now-famous guitar figure. In a 2017 interview, he recalled questioning one of Redding’s nautical lyrics—“Me being a purist kind of guy, I said, ‘Otis, did you ever think that if a ship rolls it’s going to take on water and sink?’”—but Redding waved him off, saying, “‘Hell, Crop, that’s what I want.’”
Redding’s death in a 1967 plane crash transformed the meaning of the song. Cropper finished the track alone, mixing through the night before delivering the master the next morning. He later said he hadn’t realised the two were the same age until reading Redding’s obituary, adding, “I looked up to him as an older brother… he was so wise.” The posthumous release became a No. 1 hit and remains one of the most celebrated recordings of the 20th century.
Cropper’s roots were far from the national spotlight. Born in Missouri and raised in Memphis, he grew up surrounded by gospel and rhythm and blues, eventually forming the Mar-Keys, whose 1961 instrumental “Last Night” became a foundational Stax release. Members of that group later evolved into Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the integrated studio ensemble that backed nearly every major Stax artist and recorded their own string of instrumental hits. The band’s lean, groove-driven interplay became a blueprint for countless soul and R&B acts that followed.
After leaving Stax in the late 1960s, Cropper transitioned into a prolific session and production career in Los Angeles, working with artists including John Lennon, Ringo Starr, John Prine, Leon Russell, and Rod Stewart. His visibility expanded further when he joined the Blues Brothers band, appearing in the 1980 film and helping bring Stax-style soul to a new generation. “Duck and I got a lot of flak,” he told Rolling Stone in 2024 of his M.G.’s bandmate Donald “Duck” Dunn, “but people didn’t realise John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were serious musicians long before the comedy.”
This momentum carried through the following decades. Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Cropper also produced albums for emerging and established acts, including the Jeff Beck Group, Poco, Neil Young, and a young John Mellencamp. His work on Mellencamp’s “Ain’t Even Done With the Night” and “This Time” helped shape the singer’s early chart success.
Recognition for Cropper’s contributions continued to grow. His achievements earned him induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Musicians across genres continue to cite him as a foundational influence. Mick Fleetwood wrote Monday, “Today the world lost a trailblazing musician!!!… The world of music has lost a shining gem.”
Cropper is survived by his family, who said they take comfort knowing that “every note he played, every song he wrote… will continue to move people for generations to come.”
