Green Onions (album)

Green Onions is the debut album by Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released on Stax Records in October of 1962. It reached number 33 on the Pop Albums chart in the month of its release. The title single was a huge hit worldwide which has been covered by dozens of artists, including The Blues Brothers (featuring guitarist Steve Cropper), The Ventures, Al Kooper, The Shadows, Mongo Santamaría, Roy Buchanan (also featuring Steve Cropper and Jan Hammer), Count Basie and many others.

Three previous Stax LPs - two by Mar-Keys, one by Carla Thomas - had been issued on Atlantic Records. Green Onions was the first album released on the Stax label proper. It was also Stax's first charting album, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200.^[1] The album features only instrumental songs and features Steve Cropper playing a Fender Telecaster.^[2]

Track listing

Side one

1. "Green Onions" (Steve Cropper, Booker T. Jones, Lewie Steinberg, Al Jackson, Jr) – 2:45
2. "Rinky Dink" (David Clowney, Paul Winley) – 2:39
3. "I Got a Woman" (Ray Charles, Renald Richard) – 3:32
4. "Mo' Onions" (Cropper, Jackson, Jones, Steinberg) – 2:50
5. "Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Berns) – 2:09
6. "Behave Yourself" (Cropper, Jackson, Jones, Steinberg) – 3:45

Side two

1. "Stranger on the Shore" (Acker Bilk, Robert Mellin) – 2:18
2. "Lonely Avenue" (Doc Pomus) – 3:25
3. "One Who Really Loves You" (Smokey Robinson) – 2:22
4. "You Can't Sit Down" (Dee Clark, Kal Mann, Cornell Muldrow) – 2:46
5. "A Woman, a Lover, a Friend" (Sidney Wyche) – 3:15
6. "Comin' Home Baby" (Bob Dorough, Ben Tucker) – 3:09

Personnel

• Steve Cropper - guitar
• Booker T. Jones - organ, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
• Lewie Steinberg - upright bass
• Al Jackson, Jr. - drums

Chart history

Notes