BookerT&MG

Soul music wasn't even a musical style when Booker T. & the MG's started making music together. But by the time they disbanded in 1972 they were one of the greatest reasons people remember Stax record label and the creation of soul music. Listening to hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Carla Thomas you can hear their tight, impeccable grooves. For that reason alone, they would deserve their spot in rock & roll's hall of fame. As a band that featured two blacks and two whites playing as tightly together as possible, they also set a somewhat under-appreciated example of both how integrated, self-contained bands could succeed, and how both black and white musicians could play funky soul music cutting classics like “Green Onions,” “Time Is Tight,” and “Hang 'em High.”

Booker T. Jones began working at Stax Records in Memphis as a saxophonist in 1960. Steve Cropper, who many of today’s guitar players listened to and were inspired by, and Donald Dunn, who had been a member of the Mar-Keys with Cropper, played on the groups' 1961 instrumental hit “Last Night”, which laid the groundwork for this new ‘Soul’ sound. Al Jackson joined soon after. In the early '60

s, Booker T. and the MGs provided the instrumental backing for Carla Thomas “Gee Whiz” and her father Rufus Thomas “Walkin the Dog”. The reputation as a band in their own right was established in 1962 with their instrumental hit “Green Onions”.

In the late '60s, The MG's really hit their stride with “Hip Hug-Her”, “Groovin'”, “Soul-Limbo”, “Hang 'em High”, and “Time Is Tight”, all of which were Top 40 charters between 1967 and 1969. In 1967 the group toured Great Britain in support of Otis Redding, Sam & David, Eddie Floyd, Carla Thomas, and others. They backed Otis Redding at The Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. In 1969 Crooper recorded “With A Little Help from My Friends”, and with Albert King and gospel patriarch "Pop" Staples Jammed Together.

Jones was often absent from Memphis while he finished his music studies at Indiana University. In 1970 Booker T. and the MGs quit being the Stax house band, officially disbanding in 1972. Jones moved to California and joined A&M Records as a staff producer. There he supervised the recording sessions for Rita Coolidge, his wife Priscilla (Rita's sister), and Bill Withers. In there early '70s he recorded three albums with his wife, plus the solo album Evergreen. Cropper continued with session work and producing

Some topics in this essay:
Cropper Dunn, Carla Thomas, Staples Jammed, Booker MGs, Lee Riley, Rufus Thomas, Booker MG's, Soul Man”, Blues Brothers, Al Jackson, booker mgs, cropper dunn, otis redding, blues brothers, al jackson, soul music, carla thomas, “green onions”, jones cropper dunn, jones cropper, madison square garden, square garden, movie blues brothers, “hang 'em high”, cropper dunn recorded,