Known for his groundbreaking and guitar-breaking style, Pete Townsend of the Who appreciates instrumentation. While his own unique rough style has earned Townsend, , critical acclaim and established new ways of playing guitar, Townsend considers Booker T. Jones to be the brain behind the greatest song of all time.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Jones is known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.’s. His work with the band, as well as with many other artists, has earned Jones, today 78, a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. But when he put together “Green Onions,” Townsend’s favorite, he was a teenager.
Pete Townsend harbors great affection for “Green Onions,” by Booker T. Jones
Primarily, Townsend derives inspiration from traditional rock. But both the genre and Townsend also draw from R&B, and Townsend knows who he considers the best out there. “No music gives me as much pleasure as listening to Booker T,” he’s praised.
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More specifically, he added, “‘Green Onions’ is my ultimate record of all time, and the guitar work is so tasteful; it’s everything that I want to do.”
He’s not alone in offering such high praise for the track. “Green Onions” has been described as one of the most popular instrumental and rock souls of all time and one of the most celebrated R&B instrumentals of the age. That makes it all the more remarkable to consider that Booker wrote that powerful Hammond M3 organ line when he was just 17.
Booker T. Jones makes his mark
For such a historic track, “Green Onions” very nearly didn’t happen. It just so happened that Billy Lee Riley didn’t make his recording session, leaving the floor open for Jones on the keyboard, Steve Cropper on guitar, Lewie Steinberg on bass, and Al Jackson on drums for Stax Records; Jones was playing for the house band for Stax Records. The band played around with a tune Jones had played at other venues, repurposed for a Hammond organ. That became “Behave Yourself,” but they needed a B-side and worked with Stax owner Jim Stewart.
They started with a 12-bar blues bassline Jones put together and they created “Green Onions.” At first, they wanted to call it Funky Onions” because of its unique, catchy beat, but Stewart’s sister worried that would sound like a curse word.
Jones was a music prodigy as a child, mastering the piano, trombone, saxophone, oboe, and double bass at school; he also learned to play the organ at church. He began his music career in earnest at 16 and the following year had produced “Green Onions.” His talent and influence only grew in the following years, as Jones dedicated part of his time to studying music even further. In ’92, Jones was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007.
Revisit that funky beat below!
