![]() Interestingly, they repay a compliment to Spencer Davis Group’s “Gimme Some Loving” and churn up the audience on Rufus Thomas’s “Philly Dog” as well as solid revue versions of “Green Onions” and “Booker-Loo”. et al with Wayne Jackson/Andrew Love’s horn section) on a few cuts and the MG’s alone on the rest. The spine-tingling Back to Back dates to the 1967 Stax-Volt European tour and features The Mar-Keys (Booker T. It was mandatory listening in the Summer of Love and should still be so today. If you’ve near heard this disc you’ve missed out one of the grandest crossover R&B albums of all time. Inside the tempting package, you’ll find a stellar version of the Young Rascals’ “Groovin’” (another hit), Smokey Robinson’s elegiac “Get Ready” and Bobby Hebb’s instrumentally charged “Sunny”. The Mod era Hip Hug-Her arrived complete with Carnaby Street bedecked lovelies on the cover. & The MGs even conquered the tricky Yuletide set with In the Christmas Spirit (Donald “Duck” Dunn is now in the bass chair) putting some Southern soul spin on familiar wintry favourites. Soul Dressing (1965) and the southern soul classic And Now! move into ever more sophisticated realms, adding Muscle Shoals horns and introducing soul boys and girls worldwide to the delights of Allen Toussaint’s “Working in the Coal Mine:”, the Cropper/Wilson Pickett gem “In the Midnight Hour” and a jazzier rush of standards from the Gershwins, Oliver Sain and Les Brown. Suffice to say it remains an essential listening experience. It’s an eclectic mix that ranges from Acker Bilk’s “Strangers on the Shore” to the stomping “Twist and Shout”, stopping off to pay homage to Doc Pomus (“Lonely Avenue’) and Ray Charles (“I Got a Woman”). The main disc made #33 on the Pop charts while the single – credited to the entire group- topped the US Billboard R&B Singles list. The resulting album, Green Onions, was an immediate hit. played sax on Stax Records’ first hit, “Cause I Love You” (Rufus Thomas and Carla Thomas) and would soon run into Al Jackson, Jr., and Steve Cropper – the drumming and guitar playing hombres who form the nucleus of the teenaged outfit that records “Green Onions” in 1962. Washington High School where contemporaries included David Porter (Isaac Hayes’ future writing partner), saxophonist Andrew Love (Memphis Horns) and the great soul singer-songwriter William Bell, as well as Earth, Wind & Fire’s Maurice White.Īt 16 Booker T. Discovery begins here.īorn in Memphis, Tennessee in 1944 Booker T. Well described as showing off his sultry organ work, a lithe rhythm section and lots of meaty horn accents - with touches that bring it comfortably into the 21st century, this release proves there’s plenty more great stuff to come from Jones. The master of the B3 Hammond returned to Stax in 2013 to create Sound the Alarm, follow-up his Grammy-winning (Pop Instrumental Album) The Road From Memphis, thus signalling a widespread renewal of interest in the roots of true soul. Once they hit their stride in the mid-1960s their musical approach was a template for players on both sides of the Atlantic – notably The Spencer Davis Group, the Animals, Cream and Creedence Clearwater Revival – though their sound percolates through the culture and reflects their mixed black and white lineage. and company are immersed in country blues and rock and roll, Southern soul and Memphis folklore. That latter geographical detail is also a reminder that Booker T. The M.G.’s own status is confirmed by their position in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. As a significant sideman other Booker has played with Stephen Stills, Willie Nelson, Rita Coolidge, Bill Withers, Neil Young and Bob Dylan. Donald “Duck” Dunn, Steve Cropper, Lewie Steinberg and Al Jackson Jr., all contributed to the trademark M.G.’s sound and usually performed as a unit in backing such soul luminaries as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, The Staple Singers, Wilson Pickett, Delaney & Bonnie and countless others. ![]() Jones is also associated with the highest class of band member and for his contributions to important albums by others. is indelibly associated with both the Stax and Atlantic labels, for which he recorded a prestigious run of discs, including Green Onions and Melting Pot, also running up a litany of such well-loved singles as “Hip Hug-Her”, “Soul Limbo”, “Hang ‘Em High” and the UK favourite “Time Is Tight”.Īn R&B maestro, Mr. & The M.G.’s (stands for Memphis Group) he owns the prestigious Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.Ī child prodigy who became a multi-instrumentalist in his teens, though we think of him as specialising in piano and organ – where his distinctive approach is instantly recognised – Booker T. Jones, 70-years young son of Memphis, is a musician, producer, writer and bandleader whose influence in shaping the funky side of pop-soul is as vast as his available recorded output.
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