Booker T. & the M.G.'s are 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, 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 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.
Green Onions is the debut album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in October 1962. It reached number 33 on the pop album chart in the month of its release. The title single had been a hit worldwide and was covered by dozens of artists, including the Blues Brothers and Roy Buchanan, as well as The Ventures, Al Kooper, The Shadows, Mongo Santamaría and Count Basie.
Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
The Mar-Keys, formed in 1958, were an American studio session band for Stax Records, in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1960s. As the first house band for the label, their backing music formed the foundation for the early 1960s Stax sound.
So Alone is a 1978 album by Johnny Thunders, then leader of The Heartbreakers and formerly lead guitarist for the New York Dolls.
Too Much Junkie Business is a compilation of studio demos and live recordings, recorded in late 1982 by protopunk guitarist and singer Johnny Thunders. It is one of the original releases by Neil Cooper's then cassette-only label ROIR. It was reissued in 1999 on compact disc as The New Too Much Junkie Business.
In the Flesh is a posthumous live CD by legendary punk rock guitarist/singer/songwriter Johnny Thunders. It consists of the full live set featuring a reunion of Thunders with fellow ex-New York Dolls and Heartbreakers drummer Jerry Nolan, ex-Dolls bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane, and ex-Idols & London Cowboys guitarist Barry Jones, recorded at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles, California on January 4, 1987. Given Thunders' notoriety for performing in a smacked-out or alcoholic haze, this more sober and professional Thunders performance led one reviewer to declare the CD to contain "an ample track selection, generally superb performances, and surprisingly good fidelity all in one package -- a Triple Crown rarely achieved in the world of J.T. live recordings."
Made in America is the third album by The Blues Brothers. The second live album by the band, it was released in December 1980 as a followup to their hit film released that year, The Blues Brothers.The album did not fare as well, commercially or critically as their previous two albums, 1978's Briefcase Full of Blues and The Blues Brothers: Music from the Soundtrack. Made in America peaked at #49 on the Billboard chart and the single, "Who's Making Love", just cracked the Top 40 at #39. It was the band's last album with lead singer "Joliet" Jake Blues.
Hip Hug-Her is the fifth studio album by the Southern soul band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in June 1967. The title track was the band's most successful single since their debut, "Green Onions" while their cover of the Young Rascals song "Groovin'" was also a hit. The album was their last to be produced by Stax co-founder Jim Stewart, because the band started to produce themselves starting with Doin' Our Thing.
Soul Dressing is the second album by the Southern soul band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released in March 1965.
Back to Back is a live album by the Mar-Keys and Booker T & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in 1967. It features both groups playing live on the Stax/Volt package tour of Europe. The album peaked at number 98 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.
Melting Pot is a 1971 studio album recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s for Stax Records. It is the last album to feature the group's classic lineup of Jones, Cropper, Dunn, and Jackson and the first of their albums to contain longer, jam-oriented compositions.
"Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever", the tune is a twelve-bar blues with a rippling Hammond M3 organ line by Booker T. Jones that he wrote when he was just 17, although the actual recording was largely improvised in the studio.
Dreams to Remember: The Otis Redding Anthology is a 1998 compilation album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. Advertised as a stopgap between the greatest hits album Very Best Of and the boxset Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding, this two-disc album offers most of Redding's greatest hits, a few album tracks and 5 live recordings taken from The Monterey International Pop Festival.
Common Sense is the fourth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1975.
Stations of the Cross is a Johnny Thunders album recorded over two sets at The Mudd Club in New York on September 30, 1982. Film director Lech Kowalski had originally planned to record a live Johnny Thunders performance for his movie, Stations of the Cross. The spoken dialogue was recorded at the Carlton Arms Hotel, New York City, in Room 29, on August 25, 1982.
Diary of a Lover is a Johnny Thunders album recorded throughout 1982. "Green Onions", "Look In My Eyes" and "Diary of a Lover" were recorded at Euphoria Sound Studios, Revere, Massachusetts. The other tracks were recorded at Downtown Recorders, Boston, Massachusetts.
Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding is a 1993 four compact disc compilation album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding. The first three discs focus on studio material recorded for Stax records. These recordings are all original mono single or LP mixes. Three pre-Stax recordings and a demo recorded at Muscle Shoals are also included. The fourth disc, labeled "The Ultimate Live Otis Redding Show" was compiled from various live sources in an attempt to gather "the best version" of every song Otis ever recorded live and is mixed in stereo. The 100-page booklet includes testimonials from musicians and individuals from Redding's life, essays, a photo album, track listings, discographies, personnel and recording information.
Live at Montreux 2011 is a live release by English hard rock band Deep Purple's mk VIII lineup credited as Deep Purple with Orchestra, and performed alongside the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt conducted by Stephen Bentley-Klein. This concert was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival on 16 July 2011. Besides a 2CD release, the concert film has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray. All formats were released on 7 November 2011 by German label Eagle Rock Entertainment. In 2015 a vinyl collector's edition of the album was released for a Record Store Day.
Wipe Out is the debut studio album by The Surfaris, released in 1963. It contains the best known song "Wipe Out".
