Throw the Book-er at ‘em

Booker T. Jones was just 17 years old and still a high school student in 1962 when he was noodling on a Hammond B-3 organ during a studio break at Stax Records. In the course of that noodling he came up with a figure that almost accidentally turned into one of the most influential instrumentals in American rock history. “Green Onions” to this day is one of the most recognizable songs in the pop music canon, even though at the time Jones was just as comfortable on the saxophone. The recording was one of the early hits for the Stax house band in Memphis known as Booker T. and the M.G.’s, featuring guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Lewie Steinberg (later succeeded by Donald “Duck” Dunn) and drummer Al Jackson Jr., reaching No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

The group, which scored with another instrumental called “Time is Tight,” also backed Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd and many other Stax recording artists, creating a sound still avidly pursued by musicians to this day. If that’s all Jones ever did, he would deserve his place in rock and roll history, and career accolades that include being enshrined in the Hall of Fame back in 1992, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award 27 years later. 

But Jones journeyed beyond Memphis. He branched out into the study of classical music (including a stint at Juilliard), dove into producing, working with artists ranging from Willie Nelson and Rita Coolidge to Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and Drive-By Truckers. A multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and arranger, Jones also continued to perform in sessions and concerts with other rock and soul legends, and on his own. It’s in that latter format that the indefatigable Booker T. Jones returns to the Lobero. He last performed at our hometown jewel box a few years ago with Montecito jazz saxist (and fellow Memphis-raised musical icon) Charles Lloyd. That 2018 concert lives on as the critically acclaimed 8: Kindred Spirits (Live From the Lobero) album. Now 81, Jones appears on Saturday, March 28. It might be a good idea to check it out – time is tight.