- Booker T. Jones
Infobox musical artist | Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | Instrument =
Hammond Organ ,Piano ,Guitar
Name = Booker T Jones
Born = birth date and age|1944|11|12
inMemphis, Tennessee
Died =
Alias =
Genre =R&B
SoulFunk Electric blues
Associated_acts =Booker T. & the MG's
Label =
Notable_instruments =hammond organ piano organ
Years_active =
URL = http://www.bookert.com/Booker T. Jones (born
November 12 1944 ) is a multi-instrumentalist ,songwriter ,record producer andarranger , best known for fronting the band,Booker T. and the MGs .Born in South Memphis,
Tennessee , Jones was a child prodigy, playing theoboe ,saxophone ,trombone , andpiano at school and serving asorganist at his church. He attendedBooker T. Washington High School, the alma mater ofRufus Thomas and shared the hallowed halls with future stars likeIsaac Hayes 's writing partner David Porter; saxophonist Andrew Love ofThe Memphis Horns ; soulsinger/songwriter William Bell andEarth, Wind, and Fire 'sMaurice White .Jones's first entry into professional
music came at age sixteen, when he playedbaritone saxophone on Satellite (soon to be Stax) Records' first hit, "Cause I Love You", byRufus Thomas andCarla Thomas .While hanging around the Satellite Record Shop run by
Estelle Axton , co-owner of Satellite Records with her brotherJim Stewart , Jones met record clerkSteve Cropper , who would become one of the MGs when the group formed in 1962. Besides Jones on organ and Cropper onguitar , Booker T. and the MGs featuredLewie Steinberg onbass guitar andAl Jackson, Jr. on drums (Donald "Duck" Dunn eventually replacing Steinberg). While still in high school, Jones wrote the group'sinstrumental "Green Onions ", which not only became a hit in 1962, but remains an enduring classic more than 40 years later.Over the next few years, Jones would divide his time between studying classical music composition, composing and transposition at Indiana University, playing with the MGs on the weekends back in Memphis [http://books.google.com/books?id=V-LHs6mjKc4C&pg=PA245&lpg=PA246&output=html&sig=SshCjcHohe4Aurk_z9DhnwEU0k0] , serving as a
session musician with other Stax acts, and writing songs that would become classics. He wrote, withEddie Floyd , "I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)",Otis Redding 's "I Love You More Than Words Can Say", and, with William Bell,Albert King 's "Born Under a Bad Sign ." The latter would later be popularized in thecover version bypower trio Cream. In 1970, Jones moved toCalifornia and stopped playing sessions for Stax, after becoming frustrated with Stax's treatment of the MGs as employees rather than musicians. While still under contract to Stax, he appeared onStephen Stills ' eponymous album (1970). The 1971 album, "Melting Pot" would be the lastBooker T. & the MGs album issued onStax .Jones produced three albums with his former wife, under the name Booker T. & Priscilla, as well as making the charts as a solo artist in 1981 with "I Want You". He produced Priscilla's sister
Rita Coolidge ,Bill Withers 's debut album "Just As I Am" (on which he also played several instruments), andWillie Nelson 's album "Stardust". He has also lent his trademark keyboards to everyone fromRay Charles toNeil Young toNatalie Merchant . Jones currently still plays withBooker T. & the MGs and his own Booker T. Jones Band.Jones was inducted into
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and was honored with aGrammy award for lifetime achievement on February 11, 2007. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6351549.stm] .External links
* [http://www.bookert.com/ Official homepage]
References
* cite book
last = Ware | first = Vron
title=Out of Whiteness: Color, Politics, and Culture
year=2001
publisher=University of Chicago Press
id=ISBN 0-226-87342-0
* cite book
last = Bowman | first = Rob
title=Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records
year=1997
publisher=Music Sales Group
id=ISBN 0-825-67284-8
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