music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever"[1] and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era",[2] the tune is a twelve-bar blues with a rippling Hammond M3 organ line by Booker T. Jones that he wrote when he was 17, although the actual recording was largely improvised in the studio.[3]

"Green Onions"
Cover of the 1962 US single
Single by Booker T. & the M.G.'s
from the album Green Onions
B-side	"Behave Yourself"
Released	1962
Recorded	1962, Memphis, Tennessee
Genre	Instrumental rock soul R&B
Length	2:52
Label	Stax
Songwriter(s)	Booker T. Jones Steve Cropper Lewie Steinberg Al Jackson Jr.
Producer(s)	Booker T. Jones Steve Cropper Lewie Steinberg Al Jackson Jr.
Booker T. & the M.G.'s singles chronology
"Green Onions" (1962) "Jellybread" (1962)
Audio sample
"Green Onions" file help

The track was originally issued in May 1962 on the Volt label (a subsidiary of Stax Records) as the B-side of "Behave Yourself" on Volt 102; it was quickly reissued in August 1962 as the A-side of Stax 127, and it also appeared on the album Green Onions that same year.[4] The organ sound of the song became a feature of the "Memphis soul sound".[5]

Background

Booker T. Jones was the keyboard player for the house band of Stax Records with Al Jackson on drums, Lewie Steinberg on bass, and Steve Cropper on guitar. They started jamming in the studio one Sunday when a recording session with another singer, Billy Lee Riley, failed to take place. They played around with a piano groove that Jones had performed in clubs before, although Jones decided to use a Hammond organ because he thought it sounded better on the tune. The owner of Stax, Jim Stewart, became interested in recording the resulting tune, "Behave Yourself". However, the band needed a B-side for this song. Using a riff with a 12-bar blues bassline that Jones had, the band came up with a song that became "Green Onions".[5] The guitarist Steve Cropper used a Fender Telecaster on "Green Onions", as he did on all of the M.G.'s instrumentals.[6]

After recording, Cropper contacted Scotty Moore at Sun Records to cut a record. He then took the record to a DJ on the Memphis station WLOK, who played "Green Onions" on air. Due to positive reaction of the public to the song, it was quickly re-released as an A-side.[5]

According to Booker T. Jones, the composition was originally to be called "Funky Onions", but the sister of Jim Stewart thought it "sounded like a cuss word"; it was therefore renamed "Green Onions".[5] According to Cropper, the title is not a marijuana reference; rather, the track is named after the Green Badger's^[who?] cat, Green Onions, whose way of walking inspired the riff.[7] On a broadcast of the radio program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on June 24, 2013, Jones was asked about the title and said, "The bass player thought it was so funky, he wanted to call it 'Funky Onions', but they thought that was too low-class, so we used 'Green Onions' instead."[8]

Single track listings

Name	Location	Format	Record label	Release date
"Behave Yourself" b/w "Green Onions"	US/UK	7" 45 rpm	Volt Records (US)	May 1962
"Green Onions" b/w "Behave Yourself"	US/UK	7" 45 rpm	Stax Records (US)/London Records (UK)	September 1962
"Green Onions" b/w "Boot-Leg"	United Kingdom	7" 45 rpm	Atlantic Records	March 1967

Chart performance

"Green Onions" entered the Billboard Hot 100 the week ending August 11, 1962, and peaked at No. 3 the week ending September 29, 1962. The single also made it to No. 1 on the R&B singles chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, an unusual occurrence in that it fell in and out of top spot three times.[9] It first appeared on the UK Singles Chart on December 15, 1979, following its use in the film Quadrophenia; it peaked at No. 7 on January 26, 1980, and stayed on the chart for 12 weeks.[10]

Other recordings

The Surfaris recorded a version in 1963 on their album Wipe Out (Dot DLP 3535 and DLP 25535). Harry James recorded a version in 1965 on his album Harry James Plays Green Onions & Other Great Hits (Dot DLP 3634 and DLP 25634).[17] In 1969, "Green Onions" was covered by Dick Hyman; his version peaked at No. 87 on the Canadian singles charts.[18] During the 1968 jam concerts at the Fillmore West in San Francisco that produced The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper, guitarist Mike Bloomfield and organist Al Kooper performed a jam of "Green Onions" that was included on the album. The song was sampled for Maxi Priest and Shaggy's 1996 recording of "That Girl".[19]

Similar recordings

Booker T. & the M.G.'s released a follow-up to "Green Onions", titled "Mo' Onions", on the album Green Onions in November 1962 and as a single in February 1964. It reached No. 97 on both the R&B singles and Billboard Hot 100 charts.[12]

Sonny Boy Williamson's 1963 recording "Help Me" was based on "Green Onions" and features Willie Dixon performing an upright bass riff very similar to the riff in "Green Onions" performed by Lewie Steinberg.[20]

Legacy

"Green Onions" was ranked No. 181 by Rolling Stone in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time;[21] it is the only instrumental in the list. The track is currently ranked as the 134th greatest track of all time, as well as the best track of 1962, by Acclaimed Music.[22]

In 1999, "Green Onions" was given a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.[23]

It was voted number 5 in the All-Time Top 100 Singles from Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[24] Larkin states 'an incredible, unrepeatable piece of music, copied by millions but never remotely challenged'.[24]

In 2012, it was added to the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, a list of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" American sound recordings.[25]

"Green Onions" was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2018, as one of the five new entrants in the "Classic of Blues Recording (Song)" category.[26]

See also

• List of number-one R&B singles of 1962 (U.S.)

References

External links

• Song Review at AllMusic
• "'Green Onions' – The Greatest Single of all Time" at PopMatters

На других языках

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[de] Green Onions

Green Onions (deutsch Frühlingszwiebeln) ist der Titel eines zur Soul-Musik gehörenden Instrumentalstücks der Instrumentalgruppe Booker T. & the M.G.’s, der 1962 entstand und sich später zum Millionenseller entwickelte.

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- [en] Green Onions

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[es] Green Onions

«Green Onions» es una composición instrumental grabada en 1962 por Booker T. & the M.G.'s, considerada como "una de las canciones instumentales de rock y soul más populares de todos los tiempos".[1] El tema es un blues de doce compases con un riff, compuesto por Booker T. Jones con tan sólo 17 años, interpretado por un órgano Hammond M3. El guitartista Steve Cropper usó para la grabación una Fender Telecaster.[2] El tema fue publicado originalmente en mayo de 1962 a través del sello Volt (subsidiario de Stax Records) como cara B del sencillo "Behave Yourself" aunque pronto fue de nuevo lanzado en un nuevo sencillo como cara A. Fue también incluido en el álbum Green Onions.

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[ru] Green Onions

«Green Onions» — инструментальная композиция американской группы Booker T. & the M.G.'s.

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