Booker T. and the MG's

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  • Year:
    1992
  • Inducted by:
    Jim Stewart
  • Category:
    Performers

Introduction

The groovy forefathers of Southern soul.

With their interracial lineup and experience playing with such icons as Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin, Book T and the M.G.’s have made history in more ways than one.

Hall of Fame Essay

1992

Steve Greenberg

Booker T. & the MG’s grew out of a pair of boyhood friend­ships in Memphis. Guitarist Steve Cropper (born October 21,1942) and bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn (born November 24, 1941) attended Messick High School and played together in an all-white R&B band called the Royal Spades. 

On the other side of town, drummer Al Jackson, Jr, (born November 27, 1934) and bassist Lewis Steinberg (born  September 13, 1933) were regulars in the all-black band at the Plantation Inn.

In I960, Stax Records and its affiliated record shop had just opened on East McLemore Avenue. Steve Cropper was  a clerk in the record shop and an assistant studio engineer. One of Steve’s regular customers was sixteen-year-old  Booker T. Jones (born December 11, 1944), already an accomplished keyboard and horn player.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 1992
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Booker T Quote Image
Booker T. and the MGs were the foundation of what was to become known as the Memphis sound.
Jim Stewart

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Gallery

Photography: Kevin Mazur, WireImage