WE ALSO JAM ECONO

I don't know how long it would have been before I was cognizant of Booker T and the MGs had it not been for Creedence. Back when I was barely a teenager, there was a Creedence concert special on TV. Being in possession of maybe three or four LPs at best, Creedence was my band. I soaked up all I could. There was nowhere else I'd be other than plopped down in front of the TV. And the opening act for this particular concert was Booker T and the MGs. Had they merely opened for Creedence it wouldn't have gotten my attention. But during their performance, playing "Time Is Tight", John Fogerty, Stu Cook and Doug Clifford were in the wings watching, visibly digging it. That was all the endorsement I needed. Booker T and the MGs were added to the list (back in the good ol' days when it was short and manageable).

When I finally got a Booker T and the MGs greatest hits LP, I realized that I had heard them before. "Green Onions" was played on the oldies station and for whatever reason, I hadn't known the name of the song or the band. But, after picking up the LP, they would pop up sporadically in unexpected places. About two years later "Green Onions" was in the soundtrack of American Graffiti a movie me and my buddies saw a half dozen times. Somewhere around then I became cognizant of Stax Records and studio and learned that they were the house band. A few years after that the Clash covered "Time Is Tight". Then Barfly, the semi-biopic about Charles Bukoski, had "Hip Hug-Her" as the intro rolls, during footage of dive bars with the titles superimposed.

I'm embarrassed to say that it never occurred to me to go past a cursory survey of what's online, otherwise I would have known that they backed Neil Young, at least once, in 1993. How did I not hear about this one? That's the video above. It's a show in Belgium, a full two hour set. I know what you're thinking. It could be really great or really suck. It is really great in some parts, and it really sucks in some, but the juxtaposition of Steve Cropper and Neil Young is interesting, not just for the playing but the ego dynamic, particularly because Cropper is known to think that his shit don't stink. And you know that Neil Young just don't fuckin' care.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Booker T and the MGs - Green Onions mp3 at Internet Archive
Booker T and the MGs - Time Is Tight mp3 at Internet Archive
Booker T and the MGs - Hip Hug-Her mp3 at Internet Archive
Booker T and the MGs - Summertime mp3 at Internet Archive
Booker T and the MGs - Boot-Leg mp3 at Internet Archive