Booker T. & the M.G.'s

Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American instrumental, R&B, and jazz band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1962. The band helped shape the sound of Southern soul and Memphis soul. The original members of the group were Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums). In the 1960s, as members of the Mar-Keys, the rotating slate of musicians that served as the house band of Stax Records, they played on hundreds of recordings by artists including Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Bill Withers, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor, and Albert King. They also released instrumental records under their own name, including the 1962 hit single "Green Onions". As originators of the unique Stax sound, the group was one of the most prolific, respected, and imitated of its era.

In 1965, Steinberg was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn, who played with the group until his death in 2012. Al Jackson Jr. was murdered in 1975, after which Dunn, Cropper, and Jones reunited on numerous occasions using various drummers, including Willie Hall, Anton Fig, Steve Jordan and Steve Potts.

Having two white members (initially Cropper and Steinberg, later Cropper and Dunn) and two Black members (Jones and Jackson Jr.), Booker T. & the M.G.'s was one of the first racially integrated rock groups, at a time when soul music, and the Memphis music scene in particular, were generally considered the preserve of Black culture.

Early years: 1962–1964

Booker T. & the M.G.'s formed as the house band of Stax Records, providing backing music for numerous singers, including Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding.

Stewart wanted to release the single with the first track, "Behave Yourself", as the A-side and the second track as the B-side. Cropper and radio disc jockeys thought otherwise; soon, Stax released Booker T. & the M.G.'s' "Green Onions" backed with "Behave Yourself". In an interview with BBC Radio 2's Johnnie Walker in 2008, Cropper recalled the song's immediate popularity after Reuben Washington, a disc jockey at Memphis radio station WLOK, played it four times in a row, prompting calls from listeners asking if it had been released.

The single went to number 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart and number 3 on the pop chart. It sold over one million copies and was certified a gold disc. It has been used in numerous movies and trailers, including a pivotal scene in the motion picture American Graffiti.

Later in 1962, the band released an all-instrumental album, Green Onions. Aside from the title track, a "sequel" ("Mo' Onions") and "Behave Yourself", the album consisted of instrumental covers of popular hits.

Booker T. & the M.G.'s continued to issue instrumental singles and albums throughout the 1960s. The group was a successful recording combo in its own right, but most of the work by the musicians in the band during this period was as the core of the de facto house band at Stax Records.

After a period of commercial decline, Booker T. & the M.G.'s finally returned to the Top 40 with the 1967 instrumental "Hip Hug-Her". It was the first single on which Jones played a Hammond B-3 organ, the instrument with which he is most closely associated (he used a Hammond M-3 on all of the earlier recordings, including "Green Onions"). The group also had a substantial hit with their cover of the Rascals' "Groovin'". Both tracks are included on their album Hip Hug-Her, released in the same year.

In the spring of 1967, they joined a group of Stax artists billed as the "Stax/Volt Revue" on a European tour, in which they performed in their own right and backed the other acts. In June of that year, they appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival, playing their own set and then backing Otis Redding, alongside performers like Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, the Who, and Jefferson Airplane. They were invited to perform at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, but drummer Jackson was worried about the helicopter needed to deliver them to the site, and so they decided not to play.

The albums Doin' Our Thing and Soul Limbo were released in 1968. The track "Soul Limbo", featuring marimba by Terry Manning, was a hit (later used by the BBC as their theme for cricket coverage on both TV and, latterly, radio's Test Match Special), as was their version of "Hang 'Em High". which reached No. 6 on the Billboard pop charts.

For the 1969 album Damifiknow!, the Mar-Keys name was revived. The members of the group were explicitly identified in the album credits as the sextet of Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Booker T. Jones, Al Jackson, and horn players Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson (no relation to Al). The album didn't receive much attention, and the core quartet soon returned to playing and performing as Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

Reinterpreting the Beatles' Abbey Road and gig with CCR

In 1969, Dunn and Jones, in particular, had become admirers of the Beatles, especially their work on Abbey Road. The appreciation was mutual, as the Beatles had been musically influenced by the M.G.'s. John Lennon was a Stax fan, who fondly called the group "Book a Table and the Maitre d's" (in 1974, Lennon facetiously credited himself and his studio band as "Dr. Winston and Booker Table and the Maitre d's" on his original R&B-inspired instrumental, "Beef Jerky"). Paul McCartney, like Dunn, played bass melodically, without straying from the rhythm or the groove. The Beatles had even floated the possibility of recording their 1966 album Revolver at Stax, but backed out when fans besieged the Memphis studio.

In 1970, Lennon's wish was granted, in a sense, when Booker T. and the M.G.'s recorded McLemore Avenue (named for the street where Stax Records was located), on which they performed instrumental cover versions of thirteen of the songs on Abbey Road, condensing twelve of them into three medleys. The album's front cover is a parody of the front cover of Abbey Road; the back cover, with the blurred image of a mini-skirted woman at the edge of the photo, also mirrors that of Abbey Road.

Also in 1970, Booker T. & the M.G.'s sat in with Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) for a jam, and they were the opening act for that band's January 31 performance at the Oakland Coliseum, which was recorded for the CCR album The Concert.

Jones's departure from Stax and Melting Pot

In 1971, Booker T. and the M.G.'s released what would be their last Stax single, "Melting Pot", and their last Stax album, also called Melting Pot. However, the rhythm section of Dunn and Jackson remained on at Stax and did session and production work. Jackson (who had been in Hi Records producer Willie Mitchell's band) played on and wrote many of Al Green's biggest hits. and in 2007, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Also in 2004, Eric Clapton featured Jones, Cropper, and Dunn as the house band for the first "Crossroads Guitar Festival" a two-day event held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, featuring outstanding performers in various musical genres who play guitar as their primary instrument. A two-disc DVD of the show was released in the same year.

Jones, in collaboration with the band Drive-By Truckers, released the album Potato Hole, featuring Neil Young on guitar, in 2009. He released The Road from Memphis in 2011; the album won a Grammy Award.

On May 13, 2012, Dunn died following two concerts in Tokyo. Since his death, the band has, for the most part, gone their separate ways. Cropper toured with the Blues Brothers, and Jones is performing as a solo artist as well as releasing new music under his name only. Steve Cropper died on December 3, 2025.

Band name

For many years, Stax publicity releases stated that the initials in the band's name stood for "Memphis Group", not the MG sports car.

Musician and record producer Chips Moman, who worked at Stax Records when the band was formed, claimed that the band was named after his sports car, and only after he left the label did Stax's publicity department declare that "M.G." stood for "Memphis Group". Moman had played with Jones and Steinberg in an earlier Stax backing group called the Triumphs, which was also named after his car.

Jones, in a 2007 interview on National Public Radio's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, confirmed Moman's account of the origin of the group's name. Jones has re-confirmed this story on several occasions since, most recently as a guest on the Late Show with David Letterman on May 9, 2012.

Stax historian Rob Bowman has averred that the reason the label obscured the story of the meaning of the name M.G.'s (and concocted the "Memphis Group" explanation) was to avoid claims of trademark infringement from the manufacturers of the car. In a 2019 interview with The Guardian, Steve Cropper confirmed the motor car origin and "Memphis Group" explanation, but added 'we were being interviewed and someone asked: "What does MG actually stand for?" Duck Dunn said: "Musical geniuses!"'

Members

Booker T. Jones – organ, piano, keyboards, guitars
Steve Cropper – guitars
Al Jackson Jr. – drums
Lewie Steinberg – bass
Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass
Bobby Manuel – guitars
Carson Whitsett – organ, piano, keyboards
Willie Hall – drums
Steve Jordan – drums
Steve Potts – drums

;Additional personnel

Jim Keltner – drums
Anton Fig – drums

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

{| class="wikitable"

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year

! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Album

! scope="col" colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

! style="width:40px;"|US 200

2002: Stax Instrumentals (a further 25 unreleased tracks from the 1960s, Stax/Ace CDSXD-117) with the Mar-Keys
2006: The Definitive Soul Collection (1962–1971 two-CD compilation, Rhino R2-77660)

Singles

{| class="wikitable"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| A-side

! rowspan="2"| B-side

! rowspan="2"| Label

! colspan="5"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Certifications

! rowspan="2"| Album

! style="width:40px;"|US

! style="width:40px;"|US R&B

| rowspan=2|

| "Green Onions"

| "Behave Yourself"

| Volt 102; Stax 127

| align="center"|

| align="center"|25

| align="center"|—

| Green Onions

| "Jellybread"

| "Aw' Mercy"

| Stax 131

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| rowspan="3"|Soul Dressing

| rowspan=3|

| "Home Grown"

| "Big Train"

| Stax 134

| align="center"|—

| "Chinese Checkers"

| "Plum Nellie"

| Stax 137

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| "Fannie Mae"

| "Mo' Onions"

| Stax 142

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| Green Onions

| rowspan=3|

| "Mo' Onions"

| "Tic-Tac-Toe"

| Stax 142

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| rowspan="3"|Soul Dressing

| "Soul Dressing"

| "MG Party"

| Stax 153

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| "Can't Be Still"

| "Terrible Thing"

| Stax 161

| align="center"|—

| rowspan=3|

| "Boot-Leg"

| "Outrage"

| Stax 169

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| The Best of Booker T. & the MG's

| "Hole in the Wall" (as the Packers)

| "Go 'Head On" (as the Packers)

| Pure Soul Music 1107

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| Hole in the Wall (as the Packers)

| "Be My Lady"

| "Red Beans and Rice"

| Stax 182

| align="center"|—

| rowspan=2|

| "My Sweet Potato"

| "Booker-Loo"

| Stax 196

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| And Now!

| "Jingle Bells"

| "Winter Wonderland"

| Stax 203

| align="center"|—

| In the Christmas Spirit

| rowspan=3|

| "Hip Hug-Her"

| "Summertime"

| Stax 211

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|38

| align="center"|51

| rowspan="2"|Hip Hug-Her

| "Groovin'"

| "Slim Jenkins' Place"

| Stax 224

| align="center"| (A) (B)

| align="center"|10 —

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|2 —

| align="center"|— 58

| "Winter Snow"

| "Silver Bells"

| Stax 236

| align="center"|—

| rowspan=2|

| "Soul Limbo"

| "Heads or Tails"

| Stax STA-0001

| align="center"|

| rowspan="2"|Soul Limbo

| "Hang 'Em High"

| "Over Easy"

| Stax STA-0013

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| rowspan=3|

| "Time Is Tight"

| "Johnny, I Love You"

| Stax STA-0028

| align="center"|

| Up Tight (soundtrack)

| "Mrs. Robinson"

| "Soul Clap '69"

| Stax STA-0037

| align="center"|

| The Booker T. Set

| "Slum Baby"

| "Meditation"

| Stax STA-0049

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| "Something"

| "Sunday Sermon"

| Stax STA-0073

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| McLemore Avenue

| rowspan=2|

| "Melting Pot"

| "Kinda Easy Like"

| Stax STA-0082

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| Melting Pot

| "Jamaica This Morning" (as the MG's)

| "Fuquawi"

| Stax STA-0108

| align="center"|—

| "Sugarcane" (as the MG's)

| "Blackside" (as the MG's)

| Stax STA-0169

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| rowspan="2"|The MG's

| "Neckbone" (as the MG's)

| "Breezy" (as the MG's)

| Stax STA-0200

| align="center"|—

| rowspan=2|

| "Sticky Stuff"

| "Tie Stick"

| Asylum E-45392

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|

| align="center"|—

| rowspan="2"|Universal Language

| "Grab Bag"

| "Reincarnation"

| Asylum E-45424

| align="center"|—

| "Green Onions"

| "Boot-Leg"

| Atlantic (UK) K-10109

| align="center"|—

| align="center"|

BPI: Silver

| The Best of Booker T. & the MG's

| "Cruisin'"

| "Just My Imagination"

| Columbia 38-77526

| align="center"|—

| That's the Way It Should Be

| colspan="11" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Note: Through a period between late 1963 and early 1965, Billboard magazine did not publish an R&B singles chart. R&B chart figures for this era are from Cashbox magazine.

References

External links

Booker T. Jones' official homepage
Steve Cropper's official homepage
Donald "Duck" Dunn official homepage
Booker T. Jones interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' June 2011
"'Green Onions' – The Greatest Single of all Time" at PopMatters.com
Green Onions, Live in Oslo, Norway 4/7/67