You Can Take Away My Taco Bell, But Don't Mess With My Green Onions!
Yes, green onions are back in the news. On Dec. 6, 2006, CNN reported that "Taco Bell ordered scallions removed from its 5,800 U.S. restaurants Wednesday after tests suggested they may be responsible for the E. coli outbreak that has sickened at least three dozen people in three states."
Whew! Those green onions!
"Green Onions," the song, can never be taken away. For more than 40 years that classic Hammond B-3 organ sound of Booker T and the MG's has filled blues bars, jazz airwaves, even high school band performances.
"Green Onions" kept coming back, even on the music charts, spending four different weeks at #1 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1962:
Booker T is Booker T Jones: songwriter, producer, arranger, multi-intrumentalist and keyboard stylist extraordinaire.
Born in Memphis in 1944, Booker T wrote (and the MGs recorded) "Green Onions" while still in high school. "Green Onions" was a hit in 1962 and has been a jazz and blues standard ever since.
While Booker T will forever be primarily associated with "Green Onions," his brilliant career has had many highlights including his producing of the classic platinum-selling Willie Nelson album, Star Dust and Bill Wither's unforgettable, "Ain't No Sunshine." He has worked with the best of the best including Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Steve Cropper just to name a few.
A "musician's musician," you'll hear every great player from Dr. John to the Rolling Stones ultimately drop his name when discussing their influences.
You can read more about the life and music of Booker T at his website plus see and hear a terrific live performance of the landmark blues tune, "Green Onions."
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