Green Onions

song by Booker T. and the MG’s

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July 23, 2026

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"Green Onions" is the signature song and biggest hit by the American soul music band Booker T. and the MG's. Released in 1962, this instrumental tune became a million-selling single when Booker T. Jones, the band's leader and organist, was only 18 years old. The song was added to the National Recording Registry by the U.S. Library of Congress in 2011, recognizing its cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance. Booker T. and the MG's were a prominent instrumental ensemble in 1960s soul music, known for their "Memphis Sound".12

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Booker T. and the MG’s
With their signature tune, “Green Onions” (1962), and other enticing melodies such as “Boot-Leg” (1965), “Hip Hug-Her” (1967), and “Time Is Tight” (1969), Booker T. and the MG’s (for “Memphis Group”) brought the Memphis Sound to millions worldwide. When “Green Onions” became a million-selling hit in 1962, Jones was…
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With their signature tune, “Green Onions” (1962), and other enticing melodies such as “Boot-Leg” (1965), “Hip Hug-Her” (1967), and “Time Is Tight” (1969), Booker T. and the MG’s (for “Memphis Group”) brought the Memphis Sound to millions worldwide. When “Green Onions” became a million-selling hit in 1962, Jones was…
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instrumentals
and the MG’s’ driving “Green Onions” (1962) to Hugh Masekela’s lighter “Grazing in the Grass” (1968). As pop music became more sophisticated in the late 1960s, symphonically inspired songs such as Paul Mariat’s “Love in Blue” (1967) and Mason Williams’s “Classical Gas” (1968) also were hits. In general, however,…
Read More
and the MG’s’ driving “Green Onions” (1962) to Hugh Masekela’s lighter “Grazing in the Grass” (1968). As pop music became more sophisticated in the late 1960s, symphonically inspired songs such as Paul Mariat’s “Love in Blue” (1967) and Mason Williams’s “Classical Gas” (1968) also were hits. In general, however,…
Read More