| Melting Pot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Booker T. & the MGs | ||||
| Released | January 1971 | |||
| Recorded | 1970 | |||
| Genre | R&B, Instrumental rock | |||
| Length | 40:10 | |||
| Label | Stax STS-2035 |
|||
| Producer | Booker T. & the MGs | |||
| Booker T. & the MGs chronology | ||||
|
||||
Melting Pot is a 1971 studio album recorded by Booker T. & the MG's for Stax Records. It is the last album to feature the group's classic lineup of Jones, Cropper, Dunn, and Jackson, and featured longer jam-oriented songs for the first time on an MG's album.
Contents |
By 1970, band leader Booker T. Jones had become estranged from Stax, as he protested the changing atmosphere under the leadership of executive Al Bell.[1] Jones left Memphis, Tennessee, where Stax was headquartered, and moved to California. Guitarist Steve Cropper had gone weary of the new Stax atmosphere as well, and opened his own studio in Memphis, spending less and less time at the Stax studio.[1] Melting Pot was recorded in New York City, between MG's gigs, as Jones refused to record in Memphis and wanted the band to create a different sound for the new album.[1]
The album's title track was edited down to single release, and issued by Stax as a 45 in spring 1971.[1] "Melting Pot" peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, and at number 16 on the Billboard Black Singles chart.[1]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [2] |
All songs written by Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Al Jackson, Jr. except "Kinda Easy Like", by Jones, Cropper, Jackson, and Lewis Steinberg.
| Year | Album | Chart positions[3] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
Jazz Albums | ||
| 1971 | Melting Pot | 43 | 2 | 5 |
| Year | Single | Chart positions[4] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B |
US Dance |
||
| 1971 | "Melting Pot" | 45 | 21 | — |
|
|||||||||||||||||