Booker T. & The M.G.s

One of the most popular instrumental songs ever, “Green Onions” started out as a band jam at a demo recording session for rock’n’roll singer Billy Lee Riley with the famed Stax Records house band.

Stax label head Jim Stewart liked what he heard and recorded what would become the basis for the band’s debut album. Christened Booker T. & The M.G.s, they released “Green Onions” with original members Booker T. Jones (organ, piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums) in October 1962. The title track became a worldwide hit, covered by dozens of artists including the Blues Brothers, the Ventures, the Shadows, Deep Purple, Mongo Santamaria and Count Basie.