Steve 'the Colonel' Cropper, guitar legend whose CV of stone-cold classic hits speaks for itself, has died at 84

HIS clipped, rhythmic riffs helped define the sound of 1960s soul and anchored countless classics.

- BY CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

Guitarist Steve Cropper, who has died aged 84, may not have been as well known as the hits he helped create, like Otis Redding's (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay, Wilson Pickett's In the Midnight Hour and Eddie Floyd's Knock on Wood.

But the towering legacy of the man who was known as The Colonel was reflected in the tributes from music legends that flooded in.

Mick Fleetwood called him a trailblazer, saying: "Guitarist, songwriter, producer... the world of music has lost a shining gem." Huey Lewis added: "He was a giant. An architect of Memphis soul, he wrote, produced and played on so many important songs."