Booker T Twitter Updates
NEW SONG PREMIER: "Fun"
June 25th will mark the release of Booker's 10th album, “Sound the Alarm,” on Stax/Concord. Speakeasy premieres the first tune from the album, “Fun.” Check it out here!
Booker RECIEVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Booker T. Jones Named for Instrumentalist Honors
(Nashville,
Tenn.) June 21, 2012– The Americana Music Association announces the selection
of Booker T. Jones as Lifetime Achievement Award winner to be presented
at its 11th Annual Honors and Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 12
at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
Jones is to receive the award for instrumentalist.
Booker joins Richard Thompson and Bonnie Raitt, who was previously
announced to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance.
All three artists will be present to receive the trophies and will perform
during the show.
Known just as Booker T., the multi-instrumentalist was
inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and honored with a Grammy
Award for Lifetime Achievement. His early band, “Booker T. and the MG’s”
were not only essential in shaping the sound of southern soul and Memphis
soul as a band, but all of the individual members (Steve Cropper, Lewie
Steinberg and Al Jackson, Jr.) were part of the Stax Records house band
– playing on hundreds of recordings in the 60s including those of Wilson
Pickett, Otis Redding and Bill Withers to name just a few. As originators
of the unique Stax sound, the group was one of the most prolific, respected,
and imitated of their era and one of the first racially integrated rock
groups.
Outside of the band, Jones made the charts as a solo artist and produced albums for Rita Coolidge, Bill Withers, Willie Nelson's Stardust and more. He also lent his trademark keyboards to many artists ranging in genre from Ray Charles to Neil Young. He still plays with Booker T. & the MGs and his own Booker T. Jones Band, and received an instrumental Grammy for his 2011 album The Road To Memphis.
"Booker and Richard's artistry and influence are part of the rich tapestry of Americana," noted Jed Hilly, Executive Director of the Americana Music Association. "We are thrilled they are coming to AmericanaFest; their contributions exemplify the broad reach of our community, from the common ground of folk rock to R&B born in Memphis."
Indiana University Undergraduate Commencement Ceremonies - Bloomington, Indiana - May 5, 2012
My father loved words. They didn't have to be big words, but that seemed to help. His words had to have character, and not be too common. I remember how he would explore different events and situations in life, intoxicated with the idea of getting the chance to use the phrase, "this auspicious occasion" in a sentence. He always did this with a big grin on his face.
And, like my father, I suffer bouts of prolixity. My dad drove us up here from Memphis in our 1955 Buick in the summer of 1962 and checked us into the Van Owen Hotel with an Esso gas credit card. It was the first time any of us had ever checked into a hotel. We slept and ate next to wealthy white folks for the first time in our lives here at Indiana.
The next day I went to audition for the jury that would decide if I could enter the school. - I have no idea how I passed that jury. My music reading skills were somewhat short of basic. For years, I had fooled people with my ability to play and re-create what I had heard only once. But now I had to look at the page and read it from sight. My entire previous experience was writing out a few lead sheets for Stax Records to get copyrights. I had taken a few after school classes of music theory from the choral director at my high school, and I had been the only student in the class.
But, my jurors wanted to take a chance on me, seeing potential in me. I am grateful to them for that.
My grandfather built a school in Mississippi, with his own two hands, on a muddy field, on his own property. His twelve children attended that school, along with others that lived close by. He taught himself to read and write. The former sharecropper became the only black landowner in the county, and the only teacher. My parents instilled in me a great respect for education.
I've spent a lifetime making music, and had a great time doing it. I've earned Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I've made a good living and sometimes people come up to me and say thank you for the music.
All of this is possible because of the education I received here at Indiana University.
In the spring of 1968, I was in my bed at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in East Hollywood. - I had undergone surgery to replace bone in my knee, which was deteriorated from six years of rubbing against the wooden bar underneath the Hammond B-3 organ. The doctors used pulverized bone from my own right hip.
Director Jules Dassin visited to give me the good news that I had been hired to write the score for the motion picture "Uptight", which he was directing. The company was shooting in Cleveland, and would soon be moving to Paris.
A man of only 23, I was overjoyed to find out I would be composing my first Hollywood score! But then I would have to travel in a wheelchair and use crutches since my right leg was cast from my foot to my waist. - The film paid me a salary and provided me with an upstairs studio in Quai Carnot, which is a quaint village overlooking the River Seine in Saint Cloud, a suburb of Paris.
I learned to argue in French because my driver borrowed money everyday the first three weeks I was on the job, and he wouldn't pay me back. - I was unable to walk, and 6,000 miles from home. - My apprehension was heightened when the Sorbonne students took the streets and staged a fiery revolt that shut the school down. That was near the Champs Elysees and not far from my hotel.
But, I had walked on this campus from Teter Quadrangle to the music building at 7:15 every morning for four years straight to get to music theory class! - I wasn't about to let these conditions stop me! - Looking out over the glistening River Seine, I was inspired to write the theme, "Time Is Tight", with its long, encouraging melody, for the closing scene of the film. And in so doing, I fell in love with France and its culture.
From then on, each time I raised a baton to lead an orchestra in Paris, London, or Hollywood, there was no situation I wasn't ready for, whether standing or in a wheelchair. Thanks to the training and perseverance I acquired here at Indiana, I went on to complete the score in Paris, and to conduct many other ensembles in years to come.
We have nothing more sacred or valuable than the option to get information. Decorum should always be observed when dealing with learning institutions. Colleges and Universities deserve an honorable, dignified, and respectful place in society.
Higher learning is responsible for most of the advances in society, as well as in medicine, in social structure, and in the arts. - To gain control of the human mind is the only true power, and the only power a human can truly possess.
I'll say it again, and borrow my father's phrase, that to be certain, this gathering, this Commencement Ceremony, is indeed, An Auspicious Occasion! There is a very good chance that the next leader of the free world sits in this group. You are the ones who have risen to the top. Now, to stay at the top of any field is to understand the nature of what lies at the bottom.
My advice is, if you want to be comfortable at the top, get familiar with the bottom.
If you are a conductor, know where the third trombone has to turn the page. If you are a general, be able to break down the corporal's weapon with your eyes closed. If you are a philosopher, be able to empty your own mind. If you want to rise to the top, stay close to the bottom.
To become truly healthy, you must manage your sickness. To become truly wealthy, you must give to the poor. To become truly wise, you must learn to know nothing. These, I offer you, today.
I will tell you that you have great powers. Powers that you have acquired here in the halls of Indiana University. - I will urge you to use those powers to elevate those who are beneath you in society.
It is also your responsibility to preserve our highest privilege, the right to learn, and the institutions that cultivate it.
From Africa to Europe the great thinkers have taken their places at high levels of government alongside conquerors. The thinkers became the ministers, the teachers, and the lawyers. They became the doctors, and the philosophers, and the financiers. All of them turned to the artists and the poets to make their societies whole. The artists and the poets continued to plow the fields of the human mind to get medicines their cultures desperately needed to survive. - Without art, life is meaningless.
I have survived because I learned how to learn, and I did that here, at Indiana. People told me not to come, but I came anyway, and I'm glad I did, and you will be too.
Now, you can say, - "I went to Indiana University!!" And because of that, people will listen to you and consider you. They know how hard you worked. - They will think you know what you're doing and what you're talking about. You will be paid back for all your hard work!!
You have obtained the best education possible. You will be rewarded. When you tell someone you are an I.U. Grad they will stand back, step aside and make way for you, before they fall in line behind you. You will deserve it because you've done the work for the degree you are about to receive.
Your potential is enormous. Your resources are vast. Each one of you is unique, unlike any other that has ever walked this earth. Your energy is awesome and I know you will accomplish the unbelievable.
Uphold the Cream and Crimson, go out there and show them what you can do! Believe in yourself, because you finished the greatest school in the world, Indiana University!!
Booker T. Jones scored a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Pop Instrumental Album" for his enthralling and soulful 2011 album The Road From Memphis.
The Road From Memphis traces Jones’ journey from his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee to the world stage. Produced by Jones with The Roots' ?uestlove and Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliot Smith), the album’s title refers not only to Booker T's journey but to the evolution of the soul sound he helped invent as it traveled from Memphis to Detroit, Philadelphia and beyond. The record features a broad range of guest vocalists including Matt Berninger of the National, Sharon Jones, Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket and Lou Reed.
This is Jones’s fourth Grammy award. He previously won in 1994 with his band Booker T. & The MG's for their performance of "Cruisin.'" He was then awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 and won in the Best Pop Instrumental category for his 2009 solo album Potato Hole also released on Anti-Records. Jones was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1992. .
Booker T landed a nomination for Sunday's 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards for his May 2011 release "The Road From Memphis." The album is nominated in the same category as his 2009 Anti- release 'Potato Hole' which won the Grammy for "Best Pop Instrumental Album." The GRAMMYs will be held on Sunday, February 12th in Los Angeles and telecast on CBS at 8PM EST.
Booker will also be paying tribute to the founding members of The Memphis Horns, Wayne Jackson and Andrew Love.
Watch Booker T. on PBS. See more from On Canvas.
NEW VIDEO FROM THE ALBUM "THE
ROAD FROM MEMPHIS"
Booker
is featured in the New
York Times in the August 6th issue. "...
After going nearly three decades without making a
solo record, Mr.
Jones has suddenly delivered two in the last three years. “Potato
Hole,” a guitar-driven outing with the Drive-By Truckers and his pal
Neil Young, won him a Grammy last year, and now there is the groove-oriented
“Road From Memphis,” whose title refers to the city where Mr. Jones,
66, was born and came of age as a musician. “I’m always
having to compromise, but both those records are snapshots of what’s
been going on inside me, the sounds that have been gestating,” Mr.
Jones, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992,
said in a recent interview in Manhattan." Read
more->
Larry
Rohter speaks with Booker T. Jones, composer of “Green Onions” and other
classic tracks, about his time at Stax Records and “The Road From Memphis,”
his recent collaboration with members of the Roots. “I’m living my life
in a very reckless fashion — there is no plan for anything having to
do with my musical creativity,” says Booker. “I’m trying to faithfully
follow the inner muse that I connect with, and that leads me in directions
that surprise me.”
STREAM
OR DOWNLOAD THE MP3 HERE!
On
July 23rd, Booker will be performing at the WXPN Exponential Music Festival
at Wiggens Park at Camden Waterside in Camden, New Jersey alongside other
amazing musicians such as Emmylou Harris, Clap Your Hands Say Yea, Citizen
Cope, Joseph Arthur, Ben Folds, The Smithereens, and many others!
Booker
T. and band stopped by the KCRW
studios for an interview and to play
a few songs from the new record 'The
Road From Memphis' as long as some
of Booker's older classics. You can watch
or listen to the performance
here! Tune
in!
Check
out an interview
and video performance from Booker at National Public
Radio Studios..RECORDED BY DAPTONE'S GABRIEL ROTH
WITH BACKING FROM THE ROOTS AND GUEST VOCALISTS
MATT BERNINGER (THE NATIONAL), YIM YAMES (MY MORNING JACKET), SHARON
JONES AND LOU REED
Booker T. Jones' historic life in music has brought
him international fame, awards (he’s a three-time Grammy winner and
Rock & Roll Hall of Famer), and iconic status as one of the architects
of American soul music. With his new album 'The Road From
Memphis,' due May 10 on Anti- Records, Jones traces his journey from
his hometown of Memphis, TN to the world stage. The album follows
Jones' 2009 Anti- release 'Potato Hole' which won the Grammy for
“Best Pop Instrumental Album."
Produced by Jones with The Roots' ?uestlove and Rob Schnapf (Beck,
Elliot Smith), 'Memphis' was recorded by Daptone Records mastermind
Gabriel Roth with backing by The Roots. 'The Road from Memphis' refers
not only to Booker T's journey but to the evolution of the soul music
he helped invent as it traveled from Memphis to Detroit, Philadelphia
and beyond. The music's many iterations are represented here with
a broad range of guest vocalists including Matt Berninger of the National
and Sharon Jones on "Representing Memphis," Yim Yames of
My Morning Jacket on "Progress" and Lou Reed on "The
Bronx." The album also features a rare vocal from Jones himself
offering a first-hand look at his hometown on "Down in Memphis." Legendary
motor-city guitarist Dennis Coffey contributes to the album as well.
Full track listing for 'The Road from Memphis:'
Walking Papers
Crazy
Progress (feat. Yim Yames of My Morning Jacket)
The Hive
Down In Memphis
Everything Is Everything
Rent Party
Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger of The National and Sharon Jones)
The Vamp
Harlem House
The Bronx (feat. Lou Reed)
Booker T. won a GRAMMY in 1997 for his work with Booker T. & The
MGs, taking home honors for Best Pop Instrumental Performance. He
was named a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient ten years
later, also for his work with the MGs.
But on Sunday night at the 52d Annual GRAMMY Awards, Booker T. scored
his first-ever GRAMMY as a solo artist, winning the Best Pop Instrumental
Album trophy for his April 2009 release Potato Hole (Epitaph/ANTI-). Potato
Hole, on which Booker is backed by the blistering Drive-By Truckers,
was Booker T.'s first new album in nearly two decades, and the lead
single "Warped Sister" had been nominated for Best Rock
Instrumental (the legendary Jeff Beck took home that award.)
On the Friday night before the GRAMMY ceremony, Booker T. appeared
at the MusicCares benefit event honoring his old friend Neil Young--who
contributed guitar work to Potato Hole . As part of what Rolling
Stone called "a true power trio" (along with Keith
Urban and John Fogerty) Booker T. played keys on a rousing rendition
of “Rockin’ in the Free World.”
Potato Hole and two tracks from the album, "Hey Ya" and "Space
City," were all included in The Village Voice's annual
Pazz and Jop poll, which tablulates the votes of over 697 music critics'
in an attempt to distill the most important music of the prior year. Potato
Hole was also recognized by No Depression in its Top
Albums of 2009. Finally, yet another Potato Hole track, "Pound
It Out," will be prominently featured in Ken Burn's forthcoming "Tenth
Inning," an epilogue to the filmmaker's acclaimed nine-part "Baseball" documentary
series.
Following the GRAMMY's, Booker T. left California for the Pacific
Rim, where he has a whirlwind tour of Japan slated, prior to returning
to the States to work on his as-yet-untitled follow-up to Potato
Hole.
Booker T scored two nominations for the 52d Annual GRAMMY Awards for his April 2009 release Potato Hole, including Best Pop Instrumental Album. The track 'Warped Sister' from the album was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental, competing for that honor with tunes by Jeff Beck, Brad Paisley, Brian Setzer and Steve Vai. Booker previously won a GRAMMY for Best Pop Instrumental in 1994 with the MGs for the song Cruisin', but this marks the first time he has been nominated for a solo record. Potato Hole was Booker T's first new album in nearly two decades. The GRAMMYs will be held January 31, 2010 in Los Angeles and telecast on CBS at 8 PM EST.
Booker is also going to perform at the MusiCares Person of the Year Tribute to Neil Young to be held January 29th in Los Angeles. Performers include Jack Black, Jackson Browne, CSN, Elton John, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley, Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Taylor, Wilco and many others.
Stay tuned for word on a new record and
upcoming tour dates.
Booker is on Twitter and if you'd like to follow him and get the latest updates on what he's doing directly from Booker, you can do so here :
http://twitter.com/BookerTJon
Click here to check out the USA Today preview on Booker T.'s new record, Potato Hole, out April 21, 2009 on ANTI- Records.
The official word:
TRAILBLAZING SOUL MAN BOOKER T WRITES MOST AUDACIOUS CHAPTER OF HIS CAREER WITH ANTI- RECORDS DEBUT POTATO HOLE, SET FOR APRIL 21 RELEASE
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAMER IS BACKED BY DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS AND NEIL YOUNG ON FIRST SOLO ALBUM IN TWENTY YEARS
JAZZFEST PERFORMANCE CONFIRMED WITH OTHER FESTIVAL DATES FORTHCOMING
With Booker T. and the MGs he led one of the first-ever integrated groups to soul immortality. As a producer, he has helmed sessions for million sellers. On April 21st, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Booker T will write the boldest, most dramatic chapter of his fifty year career with the release of his searing new album Potato Hole, on Anti- Records.
With backing from the Drive-By Truckers (at left) and guitar contributions from Neil Young on nine of the album's ten tracks, Potato Hole is the rawest, funkiest music Booker T has recorded since his archetypal hit Green Onions. Booker T plays organ, acoustic and electric guitar on Potato Hole and wrote seven of the album's songs. Potato Hole was recorded last fall in Georgia and California and produced by Booker T and Rob Schnapf.
Booker T will tour extensively in support of Potato Hole. An April 24 Jazzfest performance with the Drive-By Truckers has already been confirmed, with other festival dates to be announced soon.
Booker T was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 with his group The MGs. In 2007 he earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. His production credits include Bill Withers' debut album Just As I Am, and Willie Nelson's Stardust.
Booker T :: Potato Hole
For more info and press tool, visit:
http://www.shorefire.com/clients/bookert