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.
Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. is an American musician, 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.
Steven Lee Cropper, sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas and Johnnie Taylor. He also acted as the producer of many of these records. He was later a member of the Blues Brothers band. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him 36th on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, while he has won two Grammy Awards from his seven nominations.
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.
Donald "Duck" Dunn was an American bass guitarist, session musician, record producer, and songwriter. Dunn was notable for his 1960s recordings with Booker T. & the M.G.'s and as a session bassist for Stax Records. At Stax, Dunn played on thousands of records, including hits by Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Rufus Thomas, Carla Thomas, William Bell, Eddie Floyd, Johnnie Taylor, Albert King, Bill Withers, Elvis Presley, and many others. In 1992, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s. In 2017, he was ranked 40th on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time".
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.
"In the Midnight Hour" is a song originally performed by Wilson Pickett in 1965 and released on his 1965 album of the same name, also appearing on the 1966 album The Exciting Wilson Pickett. The song was composed by Pickett and Steve Cropper at the historic Lorraine Motel in Memphis, later the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Pickett's first hit on Atlantic Records, it reached number one on the R&B charts and peaked at number 21 on the pop charts.
Eddie Lee Floyd is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song "Knock on Wood".
"Knock on Wood" is a 1966 hit song written by Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper and originally performed by Floyd. The song has become covered by later artists, most notably Amii Stewart in 1979. Stewart's disco version was the most successful on weekly music charts.
The Great Otis Redding Sings Soul Ballads, simply referred to as Soul Ballads or Sings Soul Ballads, is the second studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding, released in 1965. The album was one of the first issued by Volt Records, a sub-label of Stax Records, and Redding's first on the new label. Like Redding's debut Pain in My Heart (1964), Soul Ballads features both soul classics and originals written by Redding and other Stax Records recording artists. The recording sessions took place at the Stax studios in Memphis. The album features a stereo mix made by engineer Tom Dowd, replacing the early mono mix.
Home is the debut album by husband-and-wife singers Delaney & Bonnie, released on the Stax label. Most of the album was recorded at Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, from February to November 1968, with additional overdubs in July 1969, and features many of Stax's house musicians, including Donald "Duck" Dunn, Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, and Isaac Hayes.
The Blues Brothers Band Live in Montreux is an album by The Blues Brothers band. It was released in 1990 on the heels of the band's reunion tour and it was the first album recorded by the band after the death of founding member John Belushi and the only one that does not feature Dan Aykroyd. Drummer Steve Jordan and keyboardist Paul Shaffer were not available to play, and were replaced respectively by Danny Gottlieb and Leon Pendarvis. Vocals duties were assigned to Eddie Floyd and Larry Thurston, who had been previously recruited by Matt Murphy for his short-lived solo outfit Matt "Guitar" Murphy Band. As with most other records by the band, the album was recorded live. Along with regular numbers from the Blues Brothers repertoire, it features material never performed before by the band like "Hold On, I'm Comin'",, "In the Midnight Hour", "The Thrill Is Gone", and two Eddie Floyd signature tunes, "Knock on Wood" and "Raise Your Hand". The album was produced by Tom Malone.
Renée Live is the second live album by Australian musician Renée Geyer. The album was recorded in December 1982 and released in April 1983 by Mushroom Records. The album peaked at number 80 on the Kent Music Report.
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.
The Exciting Wilson Pickett, released in 1966, was the third album by R&B and soul singer Wilson Pickett. The album charted at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard R&B albums chart and No. 21 on the popular albums chart, becoming the highest-charting studio album of Pickett's career. The making of the album saw Pickett end his relationship with Stax Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had cut his early singles, and move to Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he would record for the next two years. According to AllMusic, this album firmly established Picket's "stature as a major '60s soul man". The album launched four major hits for Pickett, but AllMusic emphasizes that the album cuts, "of nearly an equal level", will be of more interest to collectors.
Hold On, I'm Comin' is the 1966 debut album by Atlantic Records soul duo Sam & Dave, issued on the Atlantic-distributed Stax label in 1966.
Complete & Unbelievable: The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul, or simply Dictionary of Soul, is the fifth studio album by American soul singer-songwriter Otis Redding and his last solo studio album released before his death. The successful Otis Blue and the following performance at Whisky a Go Go led to his rising fame across the United States. The first side of the album mainly contains cover versions, and the second songs mainly written by Redding.
Andrew Love was an American saxophone player based in Memphis, Tennessee, best known for being a member of The Memphis Horns.
Sax for Stax is the thirteenth studio album by Saxophonist Gerald Albright issued in 2008 by Peak Records. The album rose to No. 4 on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, No. 7 on the Billboard Jazz Albums chart and No. 24 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Basie's in the Bag is an album by pianist and bandleader Count Basie and His Orchestra featuring performances of contemporary popular tunes recorded in 1967 and released on the Brunswick label.
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