The song Green Onions by Booker T and the MGs is without doubt one of the major instrumentals to come out of the 1960s. According to a review on All Music .Com it is “one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever” It reached number three in the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B charts for four weeks. The song is based on a classic twelve-bar blues progression fused with jazz and features Booker T. Jones on Hammond organ, Al Jackson Jr. on drums, Lewis Steinberg on bass guitar, he would leave the group a few months later and was replaced by Donald “Duck” Dunn, and Steve Cropper on Fender Telecaster guitar. The four, particularly with Duck, became the classic Booker T and the MGs. Add the Memphis Horns and they were the Mar-Keyes. But more often than not, they were the uncredited house band. But together or individually they were the backbone of Memphis soul music. They were not just the musicians playing behind the soul stars — they helped write, arrange and produce many of the Stax hits. They cooked with more than just Green Onions. If it was on Stax Records they were probably there playing.

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The copyright of all music in this podcast series is held by the individual holders. The theme and end songs are licensed from Fresh Music Library. All commentary is copyright by David Husom. All rights are reserved. Contact the author for educational use of this material.