ONE NOTE. CAN YOU TELL WHO IT IS? YOU CAN WITH B3 GIANT BOOKER T JONES, WHO MADE A LIVING PLAYING WITH THE HOTTEST ‘INSTRUMENTAL’ BAND OF THE 60’S, BOOKER T AND THE MGS. TUNES LIKE ‘GREEN ONIONS’ AND ‘TIME IS TIGHT’ STILL SOUND SOULFUL AND SWINGING.
BUT THE SECRET LIFE OF THE BAND WAS THAT IT WAS THE ‘BACKUP’ FOR ALL OF THE MEMPHIS SOUL SINGERS ON STAX LIKE SAM & DAVE, EDDIE FLOYD AND A GUY NAMED OTIS REDDING, BEING THE SOUNDTRACK FOR A MAGICAL TIME IN AMERICAN MUSIC.
WE RECENTLY CAUGHT UP WITH BOOKER T JONES, WHO’S STILL PERFORMING MATERIAL FORM 50 YEARS AGO AND ALSO SONGS AS NEW AS THE SUN RISE
YOU GREW UP PLAYING IN THE CHURCH. WHAT DID YOU LEARN MUSICALLY AND SPIRITUALLY THERE THAT HAS STAYED WITH YOU?
The church has had a big influence on me. My church was a CME (Christian Methodist Episcopal) as opposed to an AME (African Methodist Episcopal) church. We had classical music in our church. There was Bach in the church and the organ was a classical pipe organ.
At the same time there was some pretty heavy gospel music going on. My mother was a singer there. I ended up playing for a Men’s Bible Class and singing in the choir. So, it was a pretty heavy influence on me.
My whole spiritual architecture started there at the church, starting with the baptism and with the Catechism that they were teaching the kids there. My whole spiritual plan started there.
YOU’RE KNOWN AS A HAMMOND B3 PLAYER, BUT YOU PLAY MANY OTHER INSTRUMENTS AS WELL. WHAT MADE YOU STICK TO THE ORGAN AS OPPOSED TO THE HORNS AND REEDS YOU’VE ALSO MASTERED?
The B3 ended up being how I got my first job making money with music. I got hired as a piano player when I was about 13, and that lead to a job at Satellite Records playing the B3. Actually it was an M3.
A LOT OF GREAT ARTISTS CAME OUT OF MEMPHIS. WHAT WAS THE MUSIC SCENE LIKE AT THE TIME?
It was lush. When I was both a kid and a teenager there were many clubs and many types of clubs for players. Standards, jazz standards, blues …there was a lot of music in the churches; it was everywhere.
WHERE YOUR PARENTS CONCERNED THAT YOU WERE GETTING INTO MUSIC NOT ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHURCH?
They were supportive. They decided which musicians would take me to the club and bring my home. My parents had a pretty good handle, because my dad was a schoolteacher. So, a lot of musicians had been his students, so he decided who could pick me up and who couldn’t. He was smart; I was lucky to have him.
HOW DID YOU FIRST MEET SAXIST ANDREW LOVE, AND START BOOKER T AND THE MGS?
Andrew Love was the lead tenor saxophone player in the Booker T Washington combo. They came over to my high school and played a concert. I heard them play, and he was the guy that played the solos on the songs. His father was the minister of the biggest church down the street, and he was THE guy for years. He could mix the blues and jazz with the R&B. He’s the guy that played the solo on Otis Redding’s “Try A Little Tenderness.” He took over from Gilbert Caple (who did the sax work on the hit “Last Night”), so the torch was passed to him.
HOW DID YOU MEET GUITARIST STEVE CROPPER?
Steve played a role in my entrance to the music scene also. He was three years older than I. His after school job was to be a clerk at Satellite Records on McLemore Avenue. That was in my neighborhood; it wasn’t Steve’s neighborhood. The whites lived further east.
But, they were trying to start a recording studio in the black neighborhood. They had this little record store to support their efforts. He was the guy that was the clerk. So, when I was a kid he was playing records for me. I’d go to the store for weeks, just leave my bike outside and listen to Ray Charles and The Jazz Messengers. That was Steve; I didn’t know that he was going to be my guitar player later on!
WHEN THE BAND FORMED, WAS IT A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO BE AN “INSTRUMENTAL” BAND?
No, we just started out that I started playing some piano riff and I started playing a melody on the organ. We didn’t think we needed to add words to it. That’s how we got “Green Onions.”
YOU CAN SOLO OFF THAT THING FOR AN ETERNITY, IT’S JUST IRRESISTABLE
Fortunately, they thought that my melody was enough to hold its own.
HOW DID YOU THEN BECOME THE STAX “HOUSE BAND”?
I was playing the organ at Satellite, and Satellite became Stax Records. Satellite was the recording studio and record company.
WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST THOUGHTS OF OTIS REDDING WHEN YOU MET AND HEARD HIM?
He was at first our roadie. He was the driver, carrying our suitcases and everything for us. It was when he started singing that everything changed. He was a roadie for Johnny and the Pinetoppers; he drove the band to Memphis. Took care of them. He asked for audition.
WHEN YOU THINK BACK OF THAT 1967 TOUR WHEN YOU WERE THE BAND FOR OTIS REDDING, EDDIE FLOYD AND SAM & DAVE, WHAT GOES THROUGH YOUR MIND?
It’s on video. That was an amazing experience for me to see that. I was fortunate enough to have the best seat in the house! Right behind Sam & Dave, right behind Otis. It was a great job and an unbelievable opportunity for me. I’m glad it all got recorded on tape so I can enjoy it myself as a spectator.(Laughs)
YOU ALSO RECORDED ON THE CLASSIC ALBERT KING ALBUM “BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN.” 1000
Steve (Cropper) wanted to be on a recording with him, and he got a notice about two days before showing up that Albert King was coming down from St. Louis and he needed a song. The assignment went to me and William Bell to write a song for him. I just ended up producing it at the last minute in response to that. We just came up with that song “Born Under a Bad Sign” which was a perfect song for him the night before the session. It was a fortunate thing for us.
I BET IT HELPED PUT YOUR KIDS THROUGH COLLEGE AFTER CREAM DID IT
It did, and it put ME through college!
YOU WERE ALSO DOING SOMETHING VERY FEW ARTISTS DARED TO DO BACK THEN, WHICH WAS TO COVER BEATLES SONGS. THAT WAS CONSIDERED THE THIRD RAIL BACK THEN.
It was a big deal then, and I joke about it on stage. When I moved to California I one time went back to Memphis and said, “I’ve got a great idea; why don’t we record an album of Beatles’ songs?”
They said, “We do WHAT?!?”
But we actually did it. I wrote out who was to do the lead on each of the tracks, and it turned out really well. I’m really happy that it didn’t get bogged down.
NO WHITE BANDS DARED COVER THE BEATLES AT THE TIME. ONLY GEORGE BENSON, WILSON PICKETT AND YOU GUYS TOOK ON THE BEHEMOTH.
It’s elusively simple material. On stage now, I still do a Beatles’ song; sometimes I’ll do “Don’t Let Me Down” which is one of my favorite ones. I sometimes do “The Long And Winding Road.” They did so much interesting music and the nice thing about it is that a lot of it was influenced by music that I was doing in Memphis.
OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF YEARS, YOU’VE BEEN PUTTING OUT NEW MATERIAL AGAIN. HOW HAS THE MUSIC SCENE CHANGED SINCE YOUR EARLY DAYS?
It’s changed a lot with digital recordings. Our audience is a lot larger now because more people can see our videos. It’s a lot bigger than it was in ’65-‘66. Back then, it was a big deal for us to go from Memphis to Europe and for people to come to the shows. They really had to make a big effort to get our records and listen to the music. They only played it off shore back then; they didn’t play it on the mainland. So, the fans really had to work hard to find out when we were going to be there and to know our songs.
Now, you just have to go to Spotify; it’s so easy.
There was more of an emphasis on instrumentals when I was growing up on the music scene
YOU LOOKED REAL HAPPY WHEN BILL WITHERS CAME ON STAGE AT THE EL REY LAST YEAR. HOW DID YOU TWO FIRST CONNECT?
That was when I first moved to Malibu. Bill was working in Inglewood and was a songwriter at the time.
YOU ARE PRESENTLY WORKING WITH YOUR SON AND DAUGHTER, RIGHT.
Yes, my son is my guitar player and my daughter is managing us. It’s great; my son does so many more things than just play guitar for me. He’s got my back. It’s also just great to hang out and spend time with him.
YOU ARE ALSO VERY DIVERSE IN YOUR PLAYING, HAVING DONE MATERIAL WITH STEPHEN STILLS AND NEIL YOUNG
Steve came out to my house in Beverly Hills. I had greatly admired his albums with Crosby, Nash and Young. We just hit it off. He played on Bill (Withers) record for me when Cropper couldn’t make it. Just good players and good people.
It wasn’t that much of an adjustment to play with Neil Young. He loved our music; he’s a real R&B aficionado even though he was doing rock. He knew all of our stuff.
WHAT PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE COMING UP NOW ?
I’m working on a new album with my son. I’m also working on my memoirs which is taking up all my time. It’s a big project.
I still play a lot; about 50 dates a year.
IF SOMEONE CAME UP TO YOU TODAY AND ASKED YOU HOW TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL IN MUSIC, WHAT WOULD YOU TELL THEM?
The first thing is to do what you enjoy, and stick with that. People always say to me “You always look like you’re having fun on stage.” The nice thing about it is that I am having fun! It’s what I like to do; I’d be doing it if they didn’t even compensate me.
PLAYING WHAT YOU LOVE. LOVING WHAT YOU PLAY AND SOUNDING LIKE YOURSELF. HIS UPBRINGING IN THE CHURCH HAS SERVED HIM WELL, WHICH IS AN IMPORTANT LESSON IN AND OF ITSELF. GET YOUR SOUL IN GEAR, AND THEN LEARN TO PLAY SOUL MUSIC!
HE’S PERFORMING AT THE SIMI VALLEY CAJUN AND BLUES FEST MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND> WHAT BETTER WAY TO ENJOY TRUE AMERICANA? WWW.SIMICAJUN.ORG