Booker T. Jones, Hammond organ, piano; Steve Cropper, guitar; Lewis “Lewie” Steinberg, bass; Al Jackson, drums.
Green Onions/ Behave Yourself. Volt 102/ Stax 127. July 1962. (US R&B #1, pop #3).
Green Onions, Stax LP 701. Recorded: 27 August 1962; released: October 1962 (#33).
Green Onions/ Rinky-Dink [Dave “Baby” Cortez]/ I Got a Woman [Ray Charles]/ Mo’ Onions/ Twist and Shout [Isley Bros]/ Behave Yourself/ Stranger on the Shore [Acker Bilk]/ Lonely Avenue [Ray Charles]/ One Who Really Loves You [Mary Wells]/ You Can’t Sit Down [The Dovells)]/ A Woman, a Lover, a Friend [Jackie Wilson]/ Comin’ Home Baby [Herbie Mann]. [As on subsequent albums, the artist most associated with the song at the time is in brackets).]
Jelly Bread/ Aw’ Mercy. Stax 131, rec. 12 November 1962, rel. December 1962 (pop #82).
1963
Home Grown/ Big Train. Stax 134, rec. 11 February 1963, rel. March 1963.
+ Wayne Jackson, trumpet; Charles Axton, tenor sax; Floyd Newman, baritone sax.
Chinese Checkers/ Plum Nellie. Stax 137, rec. 17 June 1963, rel. ca. late June 1963 (pop #78).
– brass.
Mo’ Onions/ Fannie Mae. Stax 142 (“Fannie Mae” rec. 18 November 1963), rel. December 1963.
1964
Mo’ Onions/ Tic-Tac-Toe. Reissued Stax 142 (“Tic” rec. 8 January 1964), rel. late January 1964 (R&B #46, pop #109).
+ Isaac Hayes, organ and/or piano on some sessions. + brass on “MG Party”
Soul Dressing/ MG Party. Stax 153. Rec.: 19 June 1964, rel. July 1964 (pop #95).
Can’t Be Still/ Terrible Thing. Stax 161. Rec. 10 November 1964, rel. December 1964.
1965
Soul Dressing, Stax LP 705. Mostly earlier-recorded singles; remaining tracks cut 10 November 1964. Rel. March 1965.
Soul Dressing/ Tic-Tac-Toe/ Big Train/ Jellybread/ Aw’ Mercy/ Outrage/ Night Owl Walk/ Chinese Checkers/ Home Grown/ Mercy Mercy [Don Covay]/ Plum Nellie/ Can’t Be Still.
– Steinberg + Donald “Duck” Dunn, electric bass (in 1967, Dunn said “Tic-Tac-Toe” was his first MG’s record, so this shift likely started a year earlier & was formalized around now)
Boot-Leg/ Outrage. Stax 169 (“Boot-Leg” rec. 5 April 1965), rel. April 1965 (R&B #10, pop #58).
Be My Lady/ Red Beans and Rice. Stax 182, rec. 5 November 1965, rel. 17 November 1965.
1966
My Sweet Potato/ Booker-Loo. Stax 196. Rec. ca. spring 1966; rel. 27 July 1966 (R&B #18, pop #85).
And Now!, Stax LP 711. “Summertime” + “One Mint Julep” recorded ca. July 1965; remainder of non-singles cut 19 September 1966; released ca. October 1966.
My Sweet Potato/ Jericho [trad.]/ No Matter What Shape/ One Mint Julep/ In the Midnight Hour [Wilson Pickett]/ Summertime [pick anyone]/ Working in the Coal Mine [Lee Dorsey]/ Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing/ Think [“5” Royales]/ Taboo [Connie Francis et al]/ Soul Jam/ Sentimental Journey [Doris Day et al].
In the Christmas Spirit, Stax LP 713. Rec.: 28 October 1966, released ca. November 1966.
Jingle Bells/ Santa Claus Is Coming To Town/ Winter Wonderland/ White Christmas/ The Christmas Song/ Silver Bells/ Merry Christmas, Baby/ Blue Christmas/ Sweet Little Jesus Boy/ Silent Night/ We Three Kings/ We Wish You A Merry Christmas.
Jingle Bells/ Winter Wonderland. Stax 203, rel. 16 November 1966.
1967
Hip-Hug-Her/ Summertime. Stax 211, rec. ca. 6 February 1967 (“Hip-Hug-Her”), rel. 17 February 1967 (R&B #6, pop #37).
Stax Volt Revue, Live in London Vol. 1, Stax LP 721. Rec. 17 March 1967 at Finsbury Astoria Theatre, London.
Green Onions; backing band, all other tracks.
Back to Back, Stax LP 720. Rec. 21 March 1967, L’Olympia, Paris (#98).
Green Onions/ Red Beans and Rice/ Tic-Tac-Toe/ Hip-Hug-Her/ Philly Dog*/ Grab This Thing*/ Last Night*/ Gimme Some Lovin’/ Booker-Loo/ Outrage. [*=with the Mar-Keys.]
Hip-Hug-Her, Stax LP 717, rec. 26 April 1967, rel. June 1967 (#35).
Hip-Hug-Her/ Soul Sanction/ Get Ready [Temptations]/ More [Kai Winding]/ Double or Nothing/ Carnaby Street/ Slim Jenkin’s Place (aka Slim Jenkin’s Joint)/ Pigmy [Mel Brown]/ Groovin’ [Rascals]/ Booker’s Notion/ Sunny [Bobby Webb].
Groovin’/ Slim Jenkin’s Place. Stax 224, rel. 12 June 1967 (R&B #10, pop #21).
Winter Snow/ Silver Bells. Stax 227, rel. December 1967.
1968
Doin’ Our Thing, Stax LP 724. Rec. 2 February 1968 except “Beat Goes On” (rec. 24 November 1967), rel. March 1968 (#176).
I Can Dig It/ Expressway (To Your Heart) [Soul Survivors]/ Doin’ Our Thing/ You Don’t Love Me [Willie Cobbs]/ Never My Love [Association]/ The Exodus Song [Ferrante and Teicher]/ The Beat Goes On [Sonny and Cher]/ Ode To Billy Joe [Bobbie Gentry]/ Blue On Green/ You Keep Me Hanging On [Supremes]/ Let’s Go Get Stoned [Ray Charles].
Soul Limbo/ Heads or Tails. Stax STA-0001, June 1968 (pop #17).
Soul Limbo, Stax STS 2001. rec. spring 1968? Rel.: September 1968 (#127).
Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy [The Tams]/ La-La (Means I Love You) [Delfonics]/ Hang ‘Em High [Dominic Frontiere]/ Willow Weep for Me [various]/ Eleanor Rigby [Beatles]/ Heads or Tails/ (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You’ve Been Gone [Aretha Franklin]/ Born Under a Bad Sign [Albert King, written by Jones & William Bell]/ Foxy Lady [Hendrix].
Hang ‘Em High/ Over Easy. STA 0013, October 1968 (R&B #35, pop #9).
1969
Uptight, Stax STS 2006. Rec. at Stax, overdubs at Ardent, ca. autumn 1968, rel. January 1969 (#98).
Johnny, I Love You/ Cleveland Now/ Children, Don’t Get Weary/ Tank’s Lament/ Blues in the Gutter/ We’ve Got Johnny Wells/ Down at Ralph’s Joint/ Deadwood Dick/ Run Tank Run/ Time Is Tight.
Time Is Tight/ Johnny, I Love You. STA 0028, rel. Feb. 1969 (R&B #7, pop #6).
The Booker T. Set, Stax STS 2009. Rec. early 1969, rel. May 1969 (#53).
The Horse [Cliff Nobles]/ Love Child [Supremes]/ Sing a Simple Song [Sly and the Family Stone]/ Lady Madonna [Beatles]/ Mrs. Robinson [Simon & Garfunkel]/ This Guy’s in Love with You [Herb Alpert]/ Light My Fire [Doors]/ Michelle [Beatles]/ You’re All I Need to Get By [Marvin Gaye, Tammi Terrell]/ I’ve Never Found a Girl/ It’s Your Thing [Isley Bros].
Mrs. Robinson/ Soul Clap ’69. Stax STA 0037, rel. May 1969 (pop #37).
Slum Baby/ Meditation. Stax STA 0049, rel. July 1969 (pop #88).
1970
McLemore Avenue, Stax STS 2027. Rec.: Stax and Wally Heider Studios, LA, ca. early 1970. Rel.: April 1970 (#107).
Medley: Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight, The End, Here Comes the Sun, Come Together/ Something/ Medley: Because, You Never Give Me Your Money/ Medley: Sun King, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, I Want You (She’s So Heavy).
Something/ Sunday Sermon. STA 0073, rel. June 1970 (US #76).
1971
Melting Pot, Stax STS 2035. Rec.: ca. mid-late 1970, New York. Rel.: mid-January 1971 (#43).
Melting Pot/ Back Home/ Chicken Pox/ Fuquawi/ Kinda Easy Like / Hi Ride/ L.A. Jazz Song/ Sunny Monday.
“Posthumous” LP releases
The MG’s, 1973 (Dunn, Jackson + Bobby Manuel and Carson Whitsett).
Union Extended, 1976. A UK-only compilation of Sixties outtakes, many given overdubs by Terry Manning at Ardent Studios.
Overton Park Sunrise / Steve’s Stroll / Duck Walk / Cotton Carnival / Midnight On McLemore (this is And Now‘s “Taboo” under a pseudonym)/ Union Extended/ Avalon / Around Orange Mound / National Jackson / Beale Street Revival / Saucy Pt. 2 / Booker’s Theme.
Universal Language, 1977 (Jones, Cropper, Dunn + Willie Hall).
That’s the Way It Should Be, 1994 (Jones, Cropper, Dunn + Steve Jordan/ James Gadson).
64 Quartets 