Booker T. Jones

Born in Memphis, Tennessee on November 12, 1944, Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. was a musical prodigy who mastered the piano, clarinet, oboe, saxophone, and trombone before mastering the Hammond B-3 organ. While still a high school student in 1962, Jones stepped into Memphis's Satellite Records (soon renamed Stax Records) and, during a spontaneous jam session, laid down an intoxicating, infectious organ riff. The resulting instrumental track, "Green Onions," recorded with guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Lewie Steinberg, and drummer Al Jackson Jr., became a Billboard #1 R&B hit, sold over a million copies, and became one of the most recognizable instrumental recordings in rock history. As Booker T. & the M.G.'s, the racially integrated quartet served as the legendary house band for Stax Records, laying down the gritty, deeply emotive musical foundation for Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Albert King, and Carla Thomas. Jones earned a music degree from Indiana University while continuing to produce and arrange, later producing Bill Withers' debut album "Just as I Am" (1971, featuring "Ain't No Sunshine") and Willie Nelson's quadruple-platinum masterpiece "Stardust" (1978). Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, Booker T. Jones's rhythmic mastery defined the soul and rhythm-and-blues canon.