I’ve told this story before. My sister and brother and I were playing a board game and the radio was on in the background. A song came on the radio and I jumped up from the game and ran to stand by the radio and listen to the song. I had never heard anything so great! I asked my sister what the song was called and she said “Green Onions”. I think I was about 5 years old at the time. It is still one of my favorite songs. What great musicians!
Hey Tom C. I'll tell my story again too!: I was about 5 when I was in the car with my dad when a song came on the radio that I REALLY liked. I asked my dad what the name of the song was and he said; "Green Onions". It has been a favorite song of mine ever since. And the older I get, the MORE I like this song.
Michael Celani Hi Michael, I’m not sure. I haven’t really traced anything. I only know about as far back as my great great grandfather James Coryell and he was from Texas via Ohio/Kentucky. I bought a Larry Coryell album in about 1973 or 1974 and was just blown away. I think it had Alphonse Mouzon on it as well. I’ve played guitar for about 46 years now, but nowhere near as good as Larry Coryell.
@@tomcoryell Tom...thanks for answering..in 1975 I was living in New Hope Pa on the Delaware River and a buddy bought a 68 Pontiac Catalina in burgundy color....from Larry Coryell! He was living in Bucks County, which is north of Philly 35 miles. So close to Manhattan and Philly.
One thing to take away from this is how direct the process of making music was! We had a studio in the 60s nearby that could cut you a demo! You could literally walk out with a record to play. And take it to a radio station that day beam it out to all the kids! Very under appreciated era that was super influential and has affected many decades of culture around the world... it was a good moment in time! Thanks Steve
Actually, the process is even easier now. Home studios, digital processing, new analog converters... You can get an app & mix your song on your computer with the Abby Road Studio. But it was more fun back then.
@@dr.johnpaladinshow9747 However getting it on the radio to mass audience was quicker. That is unless you have millions of followers on social media, obviously the smart phone is the ultimate instantaneous tool so I agree.
Say what you want about home studios, it's not even close to having access to a label's gigantic studio and funds that so many kids had at their finger tips in the 1960's. Today record labels are controlled by only three giant corporations that don't care for local acts. Same thing happened to public radio that is no longer locally controlled.
The accidental monster hit!! I have 4 sons with ridiculous age differences. The oldest born in 1967 and the youngest in 1991... they all recognize Green Onions as soon as they hear the first couple of bars... this song is truly ageless!! Thanks to Booker T, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson Jr. and Lewie Steinberg...🎼💚
Such a nice, polite down-to-Earth guy, not to mention TALENTED! "Green Onions" is one of my all-time FAVORITE songs and has been since I was a little girl! I don't think I could EVER get tired of it! Thanks so much for sharing this. With all that's going on these days, we need to find ways to re-live better times, especially ones involving awesome music such as "Green Onions!"
That may be true, but you must admit, it ain't easy to play music on a porpoise, or even on horseback, for that matter. What's really important is to remember to never, ever play leapfrog with a unicorn.
This was one of the BEST interviews I've ever seen. Fantastic back story. Steve Cropper has always been a favorite.. I might have a t-shirt made up that just has the old Volt logo and 102 below it. Only true Blues music geeks will get it...
It's a great life story of how someone not showing up for a session helped set the stage for some great music that would be heard by millions ! Thanks for having the desire and foresight to get these stories recorded 👍
Remember seeing this guy in the Blues Brothers. Then on David Letterman as part of the band. So cool. These session guys have some amazing stories. Glen Campbell had so many cool stories. They need to be archived
I love this song. I've listened to it a thousand times, over the decades, since it was first recorded, and never knew the title 'till tonight. lol Thank you for posting.
#181 on Rolling Stones Top 500 of all time the only instrumental piece on the list. This 1962 piece is an iconic tune. Heard on TV shows Radio shows talk shows movies etc. this piece captures an era. Early 1960's & remained popular throughout the 60's & beyond. Light up some 🌞 Sunshine for the mind & listen to Green Onions. Hit it!
Bought copies of the 45 & LP when they first came. All time favorites of mine. Should be noted the rhythm comes from an old Sonny Boy Williamson song called "you gotta help me babe."
People need to understand when this record came out. There was something about it. It really wasn’t like anything else that was playing on the radio at the time. I’m not exactly sure when the Ventures came out, But just doing a pure instrumental was really rather uncommon. That was one thing. And you just can’t beat that one, four, five progression that is just the standard for blues. And what I call a “growling” organ sound was also something that you just didn’t hear in music at the time. It just had a lot of small different things about it that really caught on. I remember when it first came out (I was obviously pretty young at the time, ) but I couldn’t get enough of it. I had to have the record. I don’t know how many they sold, but it had to be a bunch. And it continues to be an iconic piece of music. And as so often happens and this industry, a lot of times it’s the accidental pieces that wind up getting the most attention. Really incredible stuff. And a great story.
I love when someone who asks me "Who's your favorite guitar player?" And I respond -- Steve Cropper. "Who?" is the usual reply. Then I get to tell them about how Steve is on most of the Stax hits as well as cowriter of Sit-in' By The Dock. Then I drop the Blues Brothers reference. Who do you think inspired Keff? Love you, Colonel Cropper!
im just picturing some DJ just casually playing a great song without any approval, with no vocals, 4 times in a row on the air! that needs to come back
I was kid in the 80s when I heard it on the radio for the 1st time and called up the station to find out what it was called. I had to sing it for the DJ but he told me 😀
So True, Uberl , ..... "Little Green Onions hangin around the Studio To Keep the Vampires Away" RIP WolfMan A Classic Song & Movie, Go Read The Story Behind the Movie & the improvs in It............
@@Nomadcreations Have seen "The Making of..." an there was very cool stuff in there, and some test shots where the improvised. Will havta check that book out!
Agreed. Short playlist for quick sales. It's like: "We play 24 in a row" then turn around and play the same 24 again. In the 60's you could hear "Sam The Sham", "Booker T and the MGs", "Ray Price", "Bobby Bare", and "Dusty Springfield" all on the same station.
@@sandburgmartin7947 Actually, I was thinking more about how most stations are now owned by big corporations which program all the stations the same -- there really are no more "local" stations which can program their own music. I admit, this may just be an assumption on my part since I haven't listened to radio in over 10 years, but even back then most of our stations around here were part of something like "clear channel" or some other corporation.
8:01 "Atlantic got wind of it and said 'You guys have a hit but there's one thing wrong. You've got to get it off Volt Records'." So does this mean that Volt was shoved aside by a bigger label?
Hi Anthony.... basically yes... Volt was a subsidiary of Stax. Atlantic was already distributing Stax product and didn’t want to add another smaller label. Thanks for watching....Joe
What an incredible story Joe! While "luck" may have something to do with coming up with a tune like that, it's really the amazing talent that all of those musicians had back then. Unfortunately, there's no real talent like that around today. I agree with the other comments about Steve being a hell of a guy! 👍👏👏👍😉😉
So I have been wrong for all these years...and never knew it. When I was learning to surf in Australia, in the early 1970's, any bullethole shaped cracks in the glass over the foam on the boards was known as an onion, and when the water seeped in and stained the foam, it made the cracks take on a brownish green tinge......I was under the impression this was where the name came from, as the song itself was ALWAYS associated with surfing and the "surf" sound, music like Dick Dale, Jan and Dean, The Ventures, the Chanteys and so on. And the first time I actually heard Green Onions used in a movie, it was in the scene from Big Wednesday when Matt goes to see Bear at his surf shop and finds out he's a role model to the kids in the area. All that wholesome "Leave It To Beaver" American bullshit from the 50's and so on....... Green Onions is playing over the top, kids are "street surfing" on the footpath in front of the shop on old wood deck skateboards, and the FAMOUS Bear logo is everywhere......I even had the Bear Surfboards t-shirt and a Bear sticker over the maker's name on my board. Now I find out the song name was totally meaningless, just something to put on a label.....how disappointing.
Mr Cropper tells the story of this iconic American song in such an unpretentious way. You really have a knack for getting folks feeling comfortable to open up
@@garysarratt1 Uh, payola is pretty much the ONLY way stuff gets on the radio, except for small indie/college stations. All stations are told what to play by their corporate conglomerates, who make their selections based on record labels wining & dining them. I know a few people in the industry who've tried to play what they thought was GOOD rather than what was dictated to them and got threatened "play what we tell you or you'll never get anything from Warner again."
Steve Cropper wasn't just telling a story, he was recounting a piece of history. Thank you for posting.
Thanks for watching Dodger......Joe
Right? A guy doesn’t show up for his session, the house band gets bored and the result is the number 1 record in the country.
Amen. This is the greatest instrumental in all of musical history.
Best music, best times.
My absolute favorite song!
Thanks Steve, Booker T and all the band members for giving us Green Onions, one of the greatest songs of any genre ever made.
THE coolest song EVER recorded.
There IS never a bad time to listen to Green Onions.
Don't wear it out though....keep some other songs as back-up!! :D - th-cam.com/video/YZQFZkq7sWE/w-d-xo.html
Green Onions is fantabulous. "What Does It Take?" is the one that transports me.
Exactly, NEVER!
I feel you've capitalised the wrong word here.
Green Onions is one of the greatest sounds ever put on tape !!!
Green Onions has EVERYTHING vibe, feel, groove, tone, coolness !!!
THANK YOU STEVE !
I’ve told this story before. My sister and brother and I were playing a board game and the radio was on in the background. A song came on the radio and I jumped up from the game and ran to stand by the radio and listen to the song. I had never heard anything so great! I asked my sister what the song was called and she said “Green Onions”. I think I was about 5 years old at the time. It is still one of my favorite songs. What great musicians!
Hey Tom C. I'll tell my story again too!: I was about 5 when I was in the car with my dad when a song came on the radio that I REALLY liked. I asked my dad what the name of the song was and he said; "Green Onions". It has been a favorite song of mine ever since. And the older I get, the MORE I like this song.
Tom Coryell ..That song had the power then.......and has the Power Now !
Tom ...any relation to Larry Coryell the jazz guitarist ?
Michael Celani Hi Michael, I’m not sure. I haven’t really traced anything. I only know about as far back as my great great grandfather James Coryell and he was from Texas via Ohio/Kentucky. I bought a Larry Coryell album in about 1973 or 1974 and was just blown away. I think it had Alphonse Mouzon on it as well. I’ve played guitar for about 46 years now, but nowhere near as good as Larry Coryell.
@@tomcoryell Tom...thanks for answering..in 1975 I was living in New Hope Pa on the Delaware River and a buddy bought a 68 Pontiac Catalina in burgundy color....from Larry Coryell! He was living in Bucks County, which is north of Philly 35 miles. So close to Manhattan and Philly.
One thing to take away from this is how direct the process of making music was! We had a studio in the 60s nearby that could cut you a demo! You could literally walk out with a record to play. And take it to a radio station that day beam it out to all the kids! Very under appreciated era that was super influential and has affected many decades of culture around the world... it was a good moment in time! Thanks Steve
@@barrettlewismitsi Ha! Not the 60s the process of getting the tunes out! Thanks ROCK ON!
Actually, the process is even easier now. Home studios, digital processing, new analog converters... You can get an app & mix your song on your computer with the Abby Road Studio.
But it was more fun back then.
@@dr.johnpaladinshow9747 However getting it on the radio to mass audience was quicker. That is unless you have millions of followers on social media, obviously the smart phone is the ultimate instantaneous tool so I agree.
Say what you want about home studios, it's not even close to having access to a label's gigantic studio and funds that so many kids had at their finger tips in the 1960's. Today record labels are controlled by only three giant corporations that don't care for local acts. Same thing happened to public radio that is no longer locally controlled.
@@benkleschinsky True... true.
The accidental monster hit!!
I have 4 sons with ridiculous age differences. The oldest born in 1967 and the youngest in 1991... they all recognize Green Onions as soon as they hear the first couple of bars... this song is truly ageless!! Thanks to Booker T, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson Jr. and Lewie Steinberg...🎼💚
Thanks for watching Susan... Joe
@@MusiciansHallofFameMuseum I'm sorry I forgot to thank you for sharing this with us!🖤
Amen 🙏🏻
It's the coolest song ever recorded. Thank you so much Booker and Steve! My favourite song of all time.
Green Onions is so cool, it needs to be defrosted. This tune makes me want to wear sunglasses at night.
Such a nice, polite down-to-Earth guy, not to mention TALENTED! "Green Onions" is one of my all-time FAVORITE songs and has been since I was a little girl! I don't think I could EVER get tired of it! Thanks so much for sharing this. With all that's going on these days, we need to find ways to re-live better times, especially ones involving awesome music such as "Green Onions!"
Thanks for watching G W…..Joe
It's just crazy. These guys made better music by accident then most did on purpose.
Absolutely. Talent never goes out of style ♥️🙏
That may be true, but you must admit, it ain't easy to play music on a porpoise, or even on horseback, for that matter. What's really important is to remember to never, ever play leapfrog with a unicorn.
Green Onions is engrained in my musical DNA.
That's Steve "The Colonel" Cropper.
Another fine interview clip!
Thanks POI... Joe
This was one of the BEST interviews I've ever seen. Fantastic back story. Steve Cropper has always been a favorite.. I might have a t-shirt made up that just has the old Volt logo and 102 below it. Only true Blues music geeks will get it...
Thanks Brad... Joe
It's one of those songs you'll love it from the first moment you hear it. Timeless
one more thing ... Wasn't Booker T a teenager when he played the organ on this?
I think you’re right.... Joe
Thanks for watching 02...... Joe
It's a great life story of how someone not showing up for a session helped set the stage for some great music that would be heard by millions ! Thanks for having the desire and foresight to get these stories recorded 👍
i came across this guy when i was 8, in 1988, when i first saw the blues brothers. what a guitarist. peace n love folks. 93.
Remember seeing this guy in the Blues Brothers. Then on David Letterman as part of the band. So cool. These session guys have some amazing stories. Glen Campbell had so many cool stories. They need to be archived
I love hearing these stories. Thanks Joe for sharing them. Great job
Thank you too Bob for watching... Joe
Love these kinds of stories. Oh just messing around warming up and bam!
Love these stories and remember the first time I heard green onions. Oh what a night that was over 50 yrs ago.
I love these interviews! It is so cool to hear the story from the people who were actually there. Not someone who heard from someone else.
Thanks for watching K.G.B……… Joe
DJ played it 4 times in a row. That was my reaction to this tune when I heard it in the 80s.
A tune that sounds great in any era , at any time . Great to hear the story behind the record ! Always sounds menacing and cool !
I love this song. I've listened to it a thousand times, over the decades, since it was first recorded, and never knew the title 'till tonight. lol Thank you for posting.
Thanks for watching agwbcfjc2……Joe
#181 on Rolling Stones Top 500 of all time the only instrumental piece on the list. This 1962 piece is an iconic tune. Heard on TV shows Radio shows talk shows movies etc. this piece captures an era. Early 1960's & remained popular throughout the 60's & beyond. Light up some 🌞 Sunshine for the mind & listen to Green Onions. Hit it!
Steve Cropper is a treasure!
I love a story with a happy ending... Thanks
Hi DrumminSon..............Thanks for watching....Joe
Steve Cropper! The Leon of Motown! We close our show with Green Onions.
thats a great little story thanks
Well done, great share. Viral before viral was a thing.
Lovely story, thanks.
Thanks for watching Michael.....Joe
Great story!
Great history thank you Steve
Steve: it was a pretty good record.
World: number one instrumental of all time.
Great success story
Fine music
Great tune great artists 👍
The movie American Graffiti introduced me to some Green Onions.
I first heard it on Al "Jazzbeaux" Collins' show on KSFO.......but American Graffiti re-kindled my interest in the song.
Sandlot for me
John Fogerty and the Blues Brothers movie got me into Booker T. and the MGs.
@@TheBillyKmusic KSFO, and for you San Jose
listeners, KLIV. Story of my early life.
steve
Awesome tune. I loved whenBooker T. Did it on lLive at Daryl’s House!” Steve Cropper is a legend!
I'd heard it before, but I first REALLY heard Green Onions on the soundtrack to the movie Quadrophenia.
My brother and his new wife walked into his wedding reception to the song it was so great!
AWESOME!!
Thanks for watching Juice....Joe
Great story. Enjoyed every minute of it.
Great story.
Bought copies of the 45 & LP when they first came. All time favorites of mine. Should be noted the rhythm comes from an old Sonny Boy Williamson song called "you gotta help me babe."
Thanks for sharing Joe….. Joe
Such a great story about the origin of this all time classic!
Awesome
what a great story behind a great track!
People need to understand when this record came out. There was something about it. It really wasn’t like anything else that was playing on the radio at the time. I’m not exactly sure when the Ventures came out, But just doing a pure instrumental was really rather uncommon. That was one thing. And you just can’t beat that one, four, five progression that is just the standard for blues. And what I call a “growling” organ sound was also something that you just didn’t hear in music at the time. It just had a lot of small different things about it that really caught on. I remember when it first came out (I was obviously pretty young at the time, ) but I couldn’t get enough of it. I had to have the record. I don’t know how many they sold, but it had to be a bunch. And it continues to be an iconic piece of music. And as so often happens and this industry, a lot of times it’s the accidental pieces that wind up getting the most attention. Really incredible stuff. And a great story.
Wonderful from the bourses mouth stuff here. This is a fantastic series !!!
TY
it's a really good anticipation song, like your just waiting for somthing really good or really bad to happen. cool song.
I love when someone who asks me "Who's your favorite guitar player?" And I respond -- Steve Cropper. "Who?" is the usual reply. Then I get to tell them about how Steve is on most of the Stax hits as well as cowriter of Sit-in' By The Dock. Then I drop the Blues Brothers reference. Who do you think inspired Keff? Love you, Colonel Cropper!
Too cool!!!!!!!!!
This one instrumental is a resume in itself. Sounds as cool today as it did when I first heard it back in nineteen yada yada bing bang boom
Thanks for watching Rod.........Joe
"Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s.
Fantastic!
You done it again Joe ! Mr. Cropper is great storyteller. Green onions was one of my favorites.
Fantastic interview!
Thanks again to you too for supporting us Sarge.....Joe
😍 love it
I play green onions on guitar always makes people smile!
im just picturing some DJ just casually playing a great song without any approval, with no vocals, 4 times in a row on the air! that needs to come back
Man oh man you got a love the good all days I love the story thank you
Thanks T for watching... Joe
Can only say "wow", green onions is one of my all time favourites.
From a little film called the blues brothers ...I found my way here....music to......let the world stop and relax
I remember that. Green Onions was huge!
Fantastic Joe! I Love you channel!
Thanks Kevin... Joe
I love this stuff.
Love Steve Cropper and Stacks Records!!!
Thanks for watching Todd... Joe
great story
Hi HisAH .... Thanks... Joe
Awesome, thanks :)
The words used to describe the making of vinyl are being lost to history!
Thanks for watching Patrick...Joe
I was kid in the 80s when I heard it on the radio for the 1st time and called up the station to find out what it was called. I had to sing it for the DJ but he told me 😀
One of the blues Brothers band members.
The best song for cruising, bar none...
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Gary.....Joe
I heard the song was originally written and played by an artist from Monroe La., Little Melvin.
Hi TBRG........ I don’t believe that’s correct.... thanks for watching....Joe
The only thing ever aded to this song was Wolfman Jack howling on top of it in American Graffitti.
Legendary! Thanks for all your great interviews!
Thank you too Ubert... best... Joe
So True, Uberl , ..... "Little Green Onions hangin around the Studio To Keep the Vampires Away" RIP WolfMan A Classic Song & Movie, Go Read The Story Behind the Movie & the improvs in It............
@@Nomadcreations Have seen "The Making of..." an there was very cool stuff in there, and some test shots where the improvised. Will havta check that book out!
@@UberLummox Not yet But Thank You Uber, I Will Check It Out.....
What's sad is that the way the radio industry operates today, this could never happen now. Ah for the "good ol' days."
Agreed. Short playlist for quick sales.
It's like: "We play 24 in a row" then turn around and play the same 24 again.
In the 60's you could hear "Sam The Sham", "Booker T and the MGs", "Ray Price", "Bobby Bare", and "Dusty Springfield" all on the same station.
@@sandburgmartin7947 Actually, I was thinking more about how most stations are now owned by big corporations which program all the stations the same -- there really are no more "local" stations which can program their own music. I admit, this may just be an assumption on my part since I haven't listened to radio in over 10 years, but even back then most of our stations around here were part of something like "clear channel" or some other corporation.
I love to her Green Onions ,when I do I crank it up .
Also how was it chosen to be in the movie American Graffiti
IT was a hit no matter how it got started '
8:01 "Atlantic got wind of it and said 'You guys have a hit but there's one thing wrong. You've got to get it off Volt Records'." So does this mean that Volt was shoved aside by a bigger label?
Hi Anthony.... basically yes... Volt was a subsidiary of Stax. Atlantic was already distributing Stax product and didn’t want to add another smaller label. Thanks for watching....Joe
What an incredible story Joe! While "luck" may have something to do with coming up with a tune like that, it's really the amazing talent that all of those musicians had back then. Unfortunately, there's no real talent like that around today. I agree with the other comments about Steve being a hell of a guy! 👍👏👏👍😉😉
Thanks Steve.., Joe
So I have been wrong for all these years...and never knew it. When I was learning to surf in Australia, in the early 1970's, any bullethole shaped cracks in the glass over the foam on the boards was known as an onion, and when the water seeped in and stained the foam, it made the cracks take on a brownish green tinge......I was under the impression this was where the name came from, as the song itself was ALWAYS associated with surfing and the "surf" sound, music like Dick Dale, Jan and Dean, The Ventures, the Chanteys and so on. And the first time I actually heard Green Onions used in a movie, it was in the scene from Big Wednesday when Matt goes to see Bear at his surf shop and finds out he's a role model to the kids in the area. All that wholesome "Leave It To Beaver" American bullshit from the 50's and so on....... Green Onions is playing over the top, kids are "street surfing" on the footpath in front of the shop on old wood deck skateboards, and the FAMOUS Bear logo is everywhere......I even had the Bear Surfboards t-shirt and a Bear sticker over the maker's name on my board. Now I find out the song name was totally meaningless, just something to put on a label.....how disappointing.
A very happy accident that has made alot of peoples' ears very happy for years.
Kind of like the way nobody likes their own voice when they here it recorded, but other people think it's great...sometimes..
When I was a kid in the early 1970's I assumed Green Onions was played by Deep Purple.
Thanks for watching 196.....Joe
just LOOKINat this guy makes me want green onions
This should demonstrate the difference between freedom of that time and socialism of today. This could not happen today
green onions is epic cool and the best tune in history. check out the race in american graffitti
Thanks for watching Al.....Joe
Whenever I hear Green Onions I think of the video of Ann Margret dancing to the song
3:30... "I called Scotty Moore.." like one does. And who DOESNT know him?!
Green Onions is a MONSTER. Was then is now.
Such a simplistic tune, and is still relevant today. :-)
Great story !
Thanks blue...Joe
One of the most iconic song in musical history! There would be no car scene in American Graffiti without Green Onions!!
Great scene. The sun coming up, all the cars following to watch the race and green onions playing. Classic
as Green Onions finishes have Wolf Man Jack comes on about putting up green onions to keep away the vampires
there wouldnt be no Playing Ball like a girl on the Sandlot without Green Onions either!!!
I was one of those people blown away by Green Onions. I still love it to this day.
Green Onions is one of the greatest songs ever recorded
Arguably the ‘coolest’ song ever
Mr Cropper tells the story of this iconic American song in such an unpretentious way. You really have a knack for getting folks feeling comfortable to open up
Thanks for watching567... joe
So true!
Hey guys, remember when DJs were allowed to think and do stuff? Those were great times.
In St.Louis, we had KXOK,
St.Louis legend Johnny Rabbit ❗️
wado1942 Payola often helped them think better.
@@garysarratt1 Uh, payola is pretty much the ONLY way stuff gets on the radio, except for small indie/college stations. All stations are told what to play by their corporate conglomerates, who make their selections based on record labels wining & dining them. I know a few people in the industry who've tried to play what they thought was GOOD rather than what was dictated to them and got threatened "play what we tell you or you'll never get anything from Warner again."
O
Before Clear Channel took over.
“We got green onions hangin all over the studio, precious”. Wolfman Jack. American Graffiti.
"Crop Dog" not only knows what to play, but what NOT to play. Green Onions is hands down one of the best grooves ever sent out over the airwaves!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts flat...Joe
Imagine Steve Cropper showing up at your station with 45 of Green Onions!
He just sounds like he’d be a cool guy to hang out with.