Booker T and the MG's--Green Onions (1962)

    The void left as the pillars of Rock and Roll went by the wayside (1960-64) was filled by various different genres. It was the rise of the girl groups, and male singers who were mostly looks a little talent. Folk music rose up to fill the void as did Jazz. Just like in the early/mid 70's, the Billboard charts were full of different kinds of music, and it's in this environment that Booker T and the MG's not only found success, but helped laid the foundations for Memphis soul. 
     The original group consisted of Booker T. Jones (keys...and who was just 17 when the band formed), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass), and Al Jackson Jr. (drums). Steinberg was replaced by Donald "Duck" Dunn in 1965. The band was assembled to be the house band for the Stax Record company out of Memphis. During the 60's they put down the foundation for much of what you heard from Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Carla and Rufus Thomas, Johnnie Taylor and many others. 
      One day in 1962 during a break, the band was fooling around with a organ riff by Jones. Jim Stewart who was president of Stax at the time liked what he heard. Enough so that when it was polished up a bit, he recorded and released it as, "Green Onions". The song took off to #3 on the charts, and set the works in motion for a series of soulful instrumentals. They reached the top 40 seven times from 1962-1969. Their sound, not only for themselves, but for a myriad of other artists made Booker T and the MG's (which stands for Memphis Group) one of seminal groups of the 60's.