- Green Onions
Infobox Single
Name = Green Onions
Cover size =
Caption =
Artist =Booker T. & the M.G.s
from Album = Green Onions
A-side =
B-side = "Behave Yourself"
Released = August1962
Format = 7"
Recorded =Memphis, Tennessee
Genre = Soul,R&B
Length = 2:45
Label = Volt
102
Stax
127
Writer =Booker T. Jones Steve Cropper Lewis Steinberg Al Jackson, Jr.
Producer =
Certification =
Chart position =
* #3 Pop:* #1 R&B
Last single =
This single =
Next single =
Misc ="Green Onions" is a hit soulinstrumental recorded in1962 byBooker T. & the M.G.s . The tune is atwelve bar blues with a ripplingHammond organ line. According to guitaristSteve Cropper its name arose from the band members' efforts to think of a title that was "as funky as possible". [Greenberg, Steve (1994). "The Very Best of Booker T. & the MG's" [CD liner notes] . Los Angeles: Rhino Records.]"Green Onions" entered the
Billboard Hot 100 in September of 1962 where it remained for 16 weeks, peaking at number 3. Originally issued on the Volt subsidiary ofStax Records , it was quicklyreissue d on Stax proper; it also appeared on the hit album "Green Onions". The recording did not chart in the UK until January1980 after being featured in the1979 film "Quadrophenia"."Green Onions" has been used extensively in radio, television, film and advertising. The tune is also a favorite at
baseball park s across the United States."Green Onions" was ranked #181 on "
Rolling Stone "'s list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.In a live cover of this tune from the album
Everybody Needs the Blues Brothers ,Dan Aykroyd , as his character Elwood J. Blues of theBlues Brothers comments on the song during a vamp, "I believe that this tune can be equated with the great classical music around the world. Well now you go to Germany, you got your Bach, your Beethoven and your Brahms. Here in America, you got your Fred McDowell, your Irving Berlin, your Glen Miller, and your Booker T. & the M.G.s!"Appearances in film
* "
American Graffiti " (1973)
* "Big Wednesday " (1978)
* "Quadrophenia" (1979)
* "" (1993)
* "The Sandlot " (1993)
* "Get Shorty" (1995)
* "Blues Brothers 2000 " (1998)
* "Stepmom" (1998)
* "Glory Road (film) " (2006)Other appearances
* In the video game "
Skate. "
* In the video game ""
* In the video game ""
* On theNPR program "Fresh Air "
* Sampled in Shaggy's cover of "Oh Carolina" (a hit in 1993).
* In aBus Eireann advertising campaign
* Used in the commercials in advertisement of the TV showKaren Sisco
* Used in the commercials in advertisement of the TV showBurn Notice
* Used in the TV show 'Top Gear' for the challenge of Clarkson in aBugatti Veyron vs. May and Hammond in May's plane
* Used in the TV show 'Top Gear' for the modification ofMercedes-Benz S-series
* Used in the Scottish TV SitcomStill Game
* Used in a recurring joke inHarry Hill 'sChannel 4 show when Hill (wearing a long black wig and pretending to be newsreaderZeinab Badawi ) would suddenly play a computer keyboard like an organ to the sound of the track.
* Used at Dodger stadium, Before announcing the Starting Lineup.
* It was covered byThe 5.6.7.8's on their 2002 album,Teenage Mojo Workout .
* It was covered byJon Lord and The Hoochie Coochie Men.
* Narrated cover by show bandThe Blues Brothers , with guitaristSteve Cropper
* Used in the TV Series Supernatural Season 2 - Fulsom Prison Blues
* Used in the movieAmerican Graffiti
* Used in the movieThe Sandlot External links
* [http://wc04.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:gzfwxct5ldte Song Review] at
Allmusic
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