Discover the story of the song > Green Onions – Booker T. and the MGs

"Green Onions" is a song written by Booker T. Jones and Al Jackson Jr. of the band Booker T. and the M.G.s. It was recorded in 1962 and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was nominated for a 1963 Grammy Award for Best RandB Performance.

Booker T. and the M.G.s were the house band at Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. They accompanied many artists, including Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas and Wilson Pickett. "Green Onions" was their first single recorded under their own name.

The song was written by Booker T. Jones, the band's leader, and Al Jackson Jr. the drummer. Jones described how they wrote the song in one take: "We had a break in the studio and we started playing this song. Al started playing this groove and I started playing these keyboard notes. We just kept playing and recorded the song in one take. "

"Green Onions" is an instrumental rhythm and blues song that uses a Hammond B-3 organ. Jones' keyboard solo is played on a Hohner D6 keyboard. The groove of the song is based on an ostinato, a repetitive rhythmic figure.


In France, the song was popularized by the 1963 film Les Tontons flingueurs. It has been covered by many artists, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, George Thorogood and the Destroyers, and Eric Clapton.