Booker T. Jones
Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement. Booker T. Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on November 12, 1944. He was named after his father, Booker T. Jones Sr., who was named in honor of Booker T. Washington, the educator. Booker T. Jones, Sr. was a science teacher at Memphis High School, providing the family with a relatively stable, lower-middle-class lifestyle. Jones was musically a child prodigy, playing the oboe, saxophone, trombone, double bass, and piano at school and organ at church. Jones attended Booker T. Washington High School, the alma mater of Rufus Thomas, and contributed with future stars like Isaac Hayes's writing partner David Porter, saxophonist Andrew Love of the Memphis Horns, soul singer/songwriter William Bell, and Earth, Wind & Fire's singer/songwriter Maurice White. Jones's entry into professional music came at the age of 16 when he played baritone saxophone on Satellite (soon to be Stax) Records' first hit, "Cause I Love You", by Carla and Rufus Thomas. Willie Mitchell hired Jones for his band, in which Jones started on sax and later moved to bass. It was here that he met Al Jackson Jr., whom he brought to Stax. Simultaneously, Jones formed a combo with Maurice White and David Porter, in which he played guitar. On March 1, 1995, Booker T. & the MGs won their first Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance for the song "Cruisin'". Jones still plays with the MGs and his own small combo called the Booker T. Jones Band. His current touring group includes Vernon "Ice" Black (guitar), Darian Gray (drums), and Melvin Brannon (bass). Jones was inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and was honored with a Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement on February 11, 2007. In 2007, Jones was also inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.
Known For
Credits
- 2023 · Willie Nelson 90: Long Story Short as Self
- 2015 · Korla as self
- 2013 · Eric Clapton's Crossroads Guitar Festival 2013 as Self
- 2013 · Otis Redding: Soul Ambassador as
- 2009 · Live From the Artists Den as Self
- 2007 · Stax/Volt Revue Live In Norway 1967 as
- 1994 · The Soul of Stax as Self
- 1987 · Shake! Otis at Monterey as Self - Booker T. & the MG's
- 1984 · Songwriter as Keyboard (Gilda's Band)
- 1976 · A Star Is Born as The Speedway
- 1968 · Monterey Pop as Self - Booker T. & the MG's (uncredited)