Record Rewind: The Name of Soul Music

Soul has a name and that name is Booker T. and the M.G.'s. Founded in the early '60s, the group is most well known for "Green Onions," an impromptu studio jam composed by Booker T. Jones, who was only 17.

However, "Green Onions" is not the group's most profound contribution to music, not even close, the M.G.'s greatest work came as the Stax Records house band throughout the 1960s.

At Stax, the band, composed of Jones (organ and piano), Steve Cropper (guitar), Lewie Steinberg (bass) and Al Jackson Jr. (drums), played with and contributed to the music of such soul icons as The Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett and Otis Redding. The group also helped to define blues music, recording with the likes of Albert King and to the early folk-rock scene, working closely with Delaney & Bonnie.

Jones is given writing credit on King's hit "Born Under a Bad Sign," while Cropper co-wrote some of the most popular songs of the era, including Pickett's "Midnight Hour" and Redding's "Dock of the Bay."

By the middle of the decade, the group defined the very peak of soul performers, often imitated by the likes of everyone, from Marvin Gaye to The Beatles and Creedence Clearwater to Cream.

The Fab Four had a particular infatuation with the M.G.'s, most specifically Paul McCartney, whose bass playing is largely derived from the work of Donald "Duck" Dunn, the man who replaced Steinberg in the M.G.'s in 1965, at the height of the band's popularity.

With the addition of Dunn, the group elected to focus on live performances, embarking on the now infamous "Hit the Road, Stax!" tour in 1967, where Booker T. and the M.G.'s were featured as the backing group for all of the Stax recording stars on the bill.

The band's most renowned performance of the era is documented entirely on film, the stirring, brilliantly collaborative and honest, "Shake! Otis at Monterey." The pop festival concert, with both Redding and the M.G.'s, features gleaming renditions of such Redding staples as "Respect," and "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" as well as a fantastic cover of The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."

The M.G.'s live following continued to grow, as did the music world's respect for the group. In the '80s and '90s the group backed artists from all genres, including such icons as Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Eddie Vedder and Stevie Wonder. They also backed Neil Young on a world tour.

In 1992, the band was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 1995, when the hall was opened, the M.G.'s acted as the house band for the ceremony, backing John Fogerty, Aretha Franklin, Al Green and Sam Moore.

Few bands have had such a profound impact on the musical landscape, even fewer have crossed so many boundaries and genres to improve the image of their craft.