Melting Pot by Booker T. & The M.G.'s

Melting Pot from Booker T. & The M.G.’s marked a turning point for the influential instrumental group. Released in 1971, it was the final studio album to include the original lineup of the longtime Stax house band (Booker T. Jones on keyboards, Steve Cropper on guitar, Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass guitar, and Al Jackson Jr. on drums). Comprised entirely of original material, Melting Pot finds the four-piece digging deep into some expansive Memphis soul jams.

It can be argued that it was Booker T. Jones who set the cast for modern soul music and is largely responsible for its rise and enduring popularity. On classic Stax hits like “Green Onions” and “Melting Pot” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee pushed the music’s boundaries, refined it to its essence and then injected it into the nation’s bloodstream.