Green Onions (album)
1962 studio album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s
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Green Onions is the debut album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in October 1962. It reached number 33 on the pop album chart in the month of its release. The title single was a worldwide hit and has been covered by dozens of artists, including the Blues Brothers and Roy Buchanan (both with Steve Cropper on guitar), as well as the Ventures, Al Kooper, the Shadows, Mongo Santamaría, Deep Purple (live and studio versions) and Count Basie.
| Green Onions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 1962 | |||
| Recorded | June–August 1962 | |||
| Studios | Stax, Memphis, Tennessee | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 34:55 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producer | Jim Stewart | |||
| Booker T. & the M.G.'s chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Green Onions | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| BBC Music | favorable[3] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [4] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 9/10[5] |
| MusicHound R&B | [6] |
| PopMatters | 8/10[7] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [8] |
| Under the Radar | 8/10[9] |
Three previous Stax LPs – two by the Mar-Keys, one by Carla Thomas – had been issued on Atlantic Records. Green Onions was the first album released on the Stax label. It was also Stax's first charting album, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200.[10] The album features only instrumental songs and features Steve Cropper playing a Fender Telecaster.[11]
The cover photo was shot by Irving Schild, who would go on to have a 52-year career as Mad magazine's primary photographer.[12] The album was included in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[13]
In 2012, the album was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, and/or aesthetically significant".[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Green Onions" | Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Lewie Steinberg, Al Jackson Jr. | 2:53 |
| 2. | "Rinky Dink" (Dave "Baby" Cortez cover) | David Clowney, Paul Winley | 2:41 |
| 3. | "I Got a Woman" (Ray Charles cover) | Ray Charles, Renald Richard | 3:35 |
| 4. | "Mo' Onions" | Jones, Cropper, Steinberg, Jackson | 2:57 |
| 5. | "Twist and Shout" (The Top Notes cover) | Phil Medley, Bert Berns | 2:13 |
| 6. | "Behave Yourself" | Jones, Cropper, Steinberg, Jackson | 3:55 |
| Total length: | 18:14 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7. | "Stranger on the Shore" (Acker Bilk cover) | Acker Bilk | 2:22 |
| 8. | "Lonely Avenue" (Ray Charles cover) | Doc Pomus | 3:30 |
| 9. | "One Who Really Loves You" (Mary Wells cover) | Smokey Robinson | 2:26 |
| 10. | "You Can't Sit Down" (The Bim Bam Boos cover) | Dee Clark, Kal Mann, Cornell Muldrow | 2:51 |
| 11. | "A Woman, a Lover, a Friend" (Jackie Wilson cover) | Sidney Wyche | 2:33 |
| 12. | "Comin' Home Baby" (Dave Bailey Quintet cover) | Bob Dorough, Ben Tucker | 3:12 |
| Total length: | 16:54 | ||
Personnel
- Booker T. & the M.G.s
- Booker T. Jones – Hammond M3 organ
- Steve Cropper – guitar
- Lewis Steinberg – double bass, bass guitar
- Al Jackson Jr. – drums
- Technical
- Haig Adishian – cover design
- Irving Schild – cover photography
Chart history
| Name | Chart (1962) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| Green Onions | U.S. Pop Albums Chart | 33 |
| "Green Onions" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 3 |
| "Green Onions" | U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 1 |
| "Mo' Onions" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 97 |
| "Mo' Onions" | U.S. Billboard R&B Singles | 97 |