Warren Haynes took to social media to pay tribute to guitarist Steve Cropper, who died Wednesday at the age of 84. Among his many, many credits, Cropper is best known as the guitarist for Memphis’ Stax Records, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and, of course, The Blues Brothers.

“It’s one thing to contribute in a meaningful way to a ‘sound’ or a musical movement that already exists, but quite another thing entirely to be part of creating a sound or a ‘movement.’ Steve Cropper helped create the movement we all know as Soul Music,” Warren Haynes wrote in his tribute on Friday. “So many amazing musicians have made their mark and taken their place in music history by contributing their own unique styles to the genres of their choosing, but very few can claim to have invented or helped invent a genre- in Steve’s case ‘the Memphis sound’. The Memphis sound, which was created by Steve, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson Jr., and Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn (among others) was an integral part of the bigger movement at that time which came to be known as Soul Music which changed the lives of millions of hungry music lovers- myself included.”

After briefly serving as the A&R man, Cropper became the in-house guitarist for Stax Records in the mid-1960s. By the time he left in 1970, “The Colonel” (as he became known) had recorded with Otis Redding, The Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Albert King, and many more, as well as co-wrote “(Sittin’ On) the Dock of the Bay” with Redding and “In the Midnight Hour” with Wilson Pickett. Cropper also co-founded Booker T. & the M.G.’s with fellow Stax Records house band members Booker T. Jones (keys), Al Jackson Jr. (who Cropper called “the greatest drummer to ever walk the Earth”), and Lewie Steinberg (bass, replaced by Donald “Duck” Dunn soon after).

“Having grown up on Soul Music,” Haynes continued, “I was affected deeply by this amazing music that was coming out of Memphis, Muscle Shoals, and Detroit (among other places) and, long before I ever picked up a guitar, the sounds and cool licks that Steve was playing on so many of these wonderful recordings became part of my musical vocabulary- part of my DNA. He, like so many who paved the way early on, was really young when he found himself emblazoned into this new world that had no rules and no precedents. They were making it up as they went along, and creating magic that would change the world and render itself as timeless. The guitar ‘hooks’ he played were perfect, and tunes that he co-wrote are some of the best in the American songbook. When being interviewed, Steve always downplayed his prowess on guitar but I think we can all agree that what he offered the world of music went far beyond technical ability and is much more rare than that of countless guitarists that he claimed to be less accomplished than.”

After leaving Stax in the fall of 1970, Cropper founded TMI Studios, going on to work with John Lennon, Rod Stewart, Tower of Power, John Prine, The Jeff Beck Group, Ringo Starr, José Feliciano, and many others. Later that decade, Cropper was recruited to back up John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd in their band The Blues Brothers, which quickly steamrolled from a Saturday Night Live segment to an opening act for Steve Martin and the Grateful Dead to a 1980 feature-length film (and later a sequel in 2000). Coincidentally, Cropper is namechecked on Sam & Dave’s original recording of “Soul Man”, a song The Blues Brothers covered and took to #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, with the band once again namechecking Steve.

Cropper is regularly included in lists of the greatest guitarists of all time, ranking #36 in Rolling Stone‘s 2010 rundown and being named “the greatest living guitar player” by Mojo in 1996 (#2 of all time, behind Jimi Hendrix). He released what would be his final solo album, Friendlytown, last year, with ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons featured throughout, plus a guest spot from Queen’s Brian May.

“I had the pleasure of being around Steve several times and always found him to be a kind soul that considered himself lucky to have been in the right place at the right time. But he was the right guy!” Haynes concluded. “If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check out the documentary STAX: Soulsville USA. It offers a lot of insight into the history of this music that some of us deemed as magic.”

Rest in peace, Steve Cropper. Watch The Colonel do what he did best in 1967 with a dream team of Stax talent: Otis Redding, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, and Sam & Dave. See Warren Haynes’ full tribute to Steve Cropper below.

Stax Volt Tour 1967 ft. Otis Redding, Booker T. & The MGs, Sam & Dave

[Video: bobbynoe1]