Booker T. & the M.G.'s were an American 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, 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. By the mid-1960s, bands on both sides of the Atlantic were trying to sound like Booker T. & the M.G.'s.
Albert Nelson, known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps best known for his popular and influential album Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) and its title track. He, B.B. King, and Freddie King, all unrelated, were known as the "Kings of the Blues". The left-handed King was known for his "deep, dramatic sound that was widely imitated by both blues and rock guitarists."
Albert J. Jackson Jr. was an American drummer, producer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced their own instrumentals. Jackson was affectionately dubbed "The Human Timekeeper" for his drumming ability. He was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s in 1992.
Born Under a Bad Sign is the second compilation album by American blues musician Albert King, released in August 1967 by Stax Records. It features eleven electric blues songs that were recorded from March 1966 to June 1967, throughout five different sessions. King played with two in-house bands: Booker T. & the M.G.'s and the Memphis Horns. Although the album failed to reach any music chart, it did receive positive reviews from music critics and is often cited as one of the greatest blues albums ever made. Born Under a Bad Sign influenced many guitarists, including Eric Clapton, Mike Bloomfield, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Born Under a Bad Sign has been recognized by several music institutions, and has been inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the National Recording Registry.
Years Gone By is a studio album by Albert King, released 1969.
Blues for Elvis – King Does the King's Things is the fifth studio album by Albert King. The songs in the album are versions of songs previously recorded by Elvis Presley. On the album sleeve there is a review by Albert Goldman, music critic for Life, who says, among other things: "For the first time on record, the King of Blues is meeting the King of Rock ... you're gonna love every minute of this musical feast fit for kings."
I Wanna Get Funky is the eighth studio album by Albert King, covering various blues tunes with heavy funk overtones, by Albert King, recorded in 1972 and released in 1974. With a rhythm section led by the Bar-Kays and horn arrangements by the Memphis Horns, it is considered by AllMusic as a "another very solid, early-'70s outing".
Blues at Sunrise is a blues album by Albert King, recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival, and released in 1988. Material recorded on the 1973 Montreux festival was also released in his albums Montreux Festival and Blues at Sunset.
The Blues Don't Change is an album by American blues musician Albert King. He recorded it at the Stax Records studio in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1973 and 1974. In 1977, Stax released the album with the same songs and running order as The Pinch.
Two Steps from the Blues is the debut album by American blues singer Bobby Bland, in 1961. It compiles five songs recorded between 1956 and 1960 and seven songs recorded in two sessions from August 3 to November 12, 1960. The sessions took place at Universal Recording Corporation in Chicago, where Bland and his backing band moved after a series of successful singles and albums. The backing band was composed of Joe Scott and Melvin Jackson (trumpet), Pluma Davis (trombone), Robert Skinner and L. A. Hill, Rayfield Devers, Teddy Reynolds (piano), Clarence Holloman, Wayne Bennett, Hamp Simmons (bass), and John "Jabo" Starks (drums). Scott also served as an arranger.
Allen Alvoid Jones Jr. was an American record producer and songwriter. Jones produced several albums for Albert King, and became the producer and manager for the Bar-Kays. He produced all of their records including their last records for Mercury Records. He formed their production company, and produced other acts such as Kwick on EMI and executively produced Ebony Webb, also on EMI.
Boogie with Canned Heat is the second studio album by American blues and rock band Canned Heat. Released in 1968, it contains mostly original material, unlike their debut album. It was the band's most commercially successful album, reaching number 16 in the US and number 5 in the UK.
Muse is the third studio album by Grace Jones, released on September 4, 1979, by Island Records.
Come To Papa is a blues album by Carl Weathersby. It was released in 2000 on the Evidence Records. It was produced by John Snyder and recorded December 18–21, 1999 at Sounds Unreel in Memphis, Tennessee.
Mr. Lucky is a 1991 album by American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist John Lee Hooker. Produced by Ry Cooder, Roy Rogers and Carlos Santana under the executive production of Mike Kappus, the album featured musicians including Keith Richards, Blues Hall of Fame inductee Johnny Winter; and three inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van Morrison, Booker T. Jones and Johnnie Johnson. And also Chester D. Thompson, who once played with Santana, on keyboards, has collaborated on writing a song on the album. Released on Virgin Records, including on its imprint label Classic Records, Mr. Lucky peaked at #101 on the "Billboard 200". By the way, Chester D. Thompson must not be mistaken with Chester Cortez Thompson, a drummer who also played with Santana, Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, Weather Report, Genesis and Phil Collins.
"Born Under a Bad Sign" is a blues song recorded by American blues singer and guitarist Albert King in 1967. Called "a timeless staple of the blues", the song also had strong crossover appeal to the rock audience with its synchronous bass and guitar lines and topical astrology reference. "Born Under a Bad Sign" appeared on the R&B chart and became a blues standard.
In Session is a blues album by Albert King with Stevie Ray Vaughan recorded live for television on December 6, 1983, at CHCH-TV studios in Hamilton, Ontario, when Vaughan was 29 and King was 60. It was released as an album on August 17, 1999, and re-released with a supplemental video recording on DVD on September 28, 2010. It has also been released on CD and SACD.
"Crosscut Saw", or "Cross Cut Saw Blues" as it was first called, is a hokum-style song "that must have belonged to the general repertoire of the Delta blues". Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan's recording of the song was released in 1941 and has since been interpreted by many blues artists. "Crosscut Saw" became an early R&B chart hit for Albert King, "who made it one of the necessary pieces of modern blues".
Blues Summit is the thirty-third studio album by B.B. King released in 1993 through the MCA label. The album reached peak positions of number 182 on the Billboard 200, and number 64 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album won a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Traditional Blues Album.
I'll Take Care of You is a duet album by American soul/gospel singers Cissy Houston and Chuck Jackson, released in 1992. It was issued by Shanachie Records, and contains their cover-versions of The Stylistics' "You Make Me Feel Brand New", Bob Marley's "Waiting in Vain", as well as Chuck Jackson's "I Don't Want to Cry".
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