Booker was featured on the News 8 Austin, TX newscast today. Booker and the MGs were in town to headline a gala event to benfit American Youthworks at the Palmer Event Center.
You can check out the video of Booker's interview below:
12.20.06
December Update
Booker T. Jones yesterday was named a 2007 Lifetime Achievement GRAMMY Award recipient for his work with the seminal instrumental group Booker T. and The MG's. Also receiving the award with the pioneering keyboardist are guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, drummer Al Jackson (posthumously), and Lewie Steinberg, the group's original bassist.
Other artists honored with 2007 Lifetime Achievement GRAMMYs are Joan Baez, Maria Callas, Ornette Coleman, the Doors, the Grateful Dead and Bob Wills.
The lineup of Cropper, Dunn, Jackson and Jones backed recordings by such artists as Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Albert King, The Staple Singers, and Wilson Pickett. The group were million-sellers in their own right as one of the top instrumental outfits of the rock era, with hits including "Green Onions," "Time Is Tight," and "Hang'Em High." As a band that featured two blacks and two whites playing as a cohesive group in the highly-charged south of the '60s, the band set an example of how music can transcend racial divisions. Booker T and The MGs are also 1992 inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
After the MGs disbanded in 1972, Booker T. produced Willie Nelson's multi-platinum "Stardust" album and Bill Withers' "Just As I Am" album and co-wrote the classic hit "Born Under a Bad Sign." He has also performed live with Neil Young, Eric Clapton and George Harrison, among others.
Booker is currently working on his first recording of solo or MG's material since 1994, and 2007 tour dates in the US and Europe are planned. Booker also recently appeared in the Michel Gondry directed film Be Kind, Rewind with Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow and also contributed two songs to the film, which will be released in 2007.
The Lifetime Achievement Awards honor lifelong artistic contributions to the recording medium and are decided on by vote of The Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. The awards will be presented during the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards weekend. The 2007 GRAMMYs will be broadcast live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2007, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
10.03.06
October Update
Guest artist: I just recorded with Poncho Sanchez for his upcoming record on Concord Records. I was joined by Steve Cropper and Eddie Floyd on two songs and really had a great time. Thanks to Poncho for having me on the record!
Recording: I'm working on ideas and concepts for my upcoming solo record and plan to start recording in the next couple months. Updates will be posted on my website and on my MySpace page, where I'm working on posting some live tracks from the show in West Virginia.
California Tour dates: I have two upcoming dates in November in California - November 9th in San Diego and November 11th in Malibu. Check the itinerary for details, and if you're in the area, please come see us and say hello.
Keyboard Magazine: I recently stopped by their offices to do an article with their technical editor, Steve Fortner. Look for the piece in an upcoming issue of Keyboard.
Thanks for your support and hope to see you at one of the upcoming shows -
08.10.06
Booker's Vancouver Sun Interview
In advance ofthis weekend's Burnaby Blues and Roots Festival, the Vancouver Sun ran a full-page spread on Booker T. Asked about his dedication to his long career, Booker said, "It takes a lot of discipline to focus on one thing. One of my biggest gifts in life is that my favourite song is one of my own, [the million-selling 1962 instrumental] 'Green Onions.' I still can't believe that I was able to get in the studio, and come up with that song and record it, and then other people liked it too. I turn on the TV and hear it, and I'm just blown away.
"All of the music comes through me, it comes through all of us. What you do is you learn your scales, and you try and learn how to play the instrument and open up, and all of it comes from a bigger source. You're just either able to or not able to play it when it does. You're just a transcription machine at that point."
Stax Profiles: Booker T and the MGs a new 15-track compilation of Stax hits, is available in stores today. The songs on the CD were selected by Elvis Costello, who also contributed liner notes to the project. Costello, who was a teenager in England when Booker T and the MGs started hitting the charts with their R-n-B instrumentals, offers his insight into the band's unique artistry and their impact on music. The CD includes tracks such as "Time Is Tight," the quartet's most successful single in the U.K., and an unusual combination of lesser-known cuts and signature songs such as "Hip Hug-Her," "Hang 'Em High," and a live version of "Boot-Leg."
