Booker T & The MGs
In
1962 the hottest new instrumentalists were Booker T and The MGs -
Two blacks and two whites, they were the studio band for Stax
records, but their own hit, Green Onions, was as original
and influential as any other song they had played on.
It became a worldwide hit and earned Booker T Jones his first
gold record - at the age of 17!
Born in the Memphis black ghetto in 1944, Jones showed
considerable early promise as a musician and was snapped up as a
session man by the newly-formed Stax label.
Despite the success of Green Onions, Jones was intent on
finishing his education by majoring in music at Indiana
University. It wasn't until 1966 that he decided to return
full-time to music.
Because Booker T and The MGs (the 'MGs' incidentally stood for
"Memphis Group") were a session band, the line-up
changed often, but the most constant members were Jones himself
with Al Jackson, Donald 'Duck' Dunn and Steve Cropper (noted for
composing In The Midnight Hour and Sitting On The
Dock Of The Bay).
While the band continued to back Otis
Redding, Wilson Pickett and
many other soul stars, they kept their own identity with hits like
Soul Limbo, Hang 'Em High and Time Is Tight,
and became one of the most respected instrumental units of all
time.
The group disbanded in 1972 to reform twice, unsuccessfully, in
1973 and 1977. Steve Cropper became chief recording engineer for
Stax and formed The Mar-Keys with Dunn.
Al Jackson was tragically murdered at his Memphis home in 1975.
In 1977, Cropper and Dunn famously became part of The Blues
Brothers Band producing a number one album, Briefcase Full of
Blues, and in 1980 were featured in the
classic movie starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. They
reprised their roles in Blues Brothers 2000.
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