Booker T. & the M.G.'s

USA, 1962–now

House band at Stax Records: Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald Dunn and Al Jackson Jr. They played on most of the label's recordings and had their own hit with 'Green Onions'.

MusicRoots documents 1 artist who influenced Booker T. & the M.G.'s and 5 artists Booker T. & the M.G.'s influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Booker T. & the M.G.'s?

• Ray Charles — Ray Charles's organ-in-soul context was the foundation Booker T. Jones built his style on.

Which artists did Booker T. & the M.G.'s influence?

• Creedence Clearwater Revival — Fogerty's model for what a band should be: four players making one groove rather than four parts. He played the Hammond B3 himself across Pendulum in acknowledgement.
• The Velvet Underground — Where the band's locked, unhurried groove comes from — the rhythm section as the whole song rather than a bed for one.
• Eurythmics — The Stax groove was the soul half of the Eurythmics formula — Stewart's own 'Kraftwerk meets... Booker T and the MGs' names it directly.
• Sly and Robbie — Al Jackson Jr's Memphis time is the other half of Sly Dunbar's playing, named by him alongside Lloyd Knibb.
• Small Faces — Named among Marriott's influences — the Stax rhythm section behind the Small Faces' R&B.