Booker T. & the M.G.'s

Booker T. & the M.G.'s is an instrumental R&B/funk band that was influential in shaping 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 house band of Stax Records, they played on hundreds of recordings by artists such as 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, of which the best known is 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. By the mid-1960s, bands on both sides of the Atlantic were trying to sound like Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

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.

The MG's (album)

The MG's is a 1973 album recorded by the MG's for Stax Records. Both frontman Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper were estranged from Stax by 1973. Remaining members Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr. recruited Bobby Manuel to replace Cropper and Carson Whitsett to replace Jones.

Billed as "The MG's" since Jones was not involved with the project, the group released two singles, "Sugar Cane" and "Neck Bone". The singles and the album were not commercially successful, but were critically well received. By 1975, Jones and Cropper agreed to reform the original lineup with Jackson and Dunn, but just days before their scheduled reunion, Jackson was murdered at his home in Memphis, Tennessee.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Donald "Duck" Dunn, Al Jackson, Jr., Bobby Manuel, Carson Whitsett; except where indicated