Booker T.

Booker T. Jones came of age in the Memphis music scene in the ’60s, starting as a session musician at Stax Records when he was still a teenager. He penned his most unforgettable organ riff at 17 while messing around at a recording session—“Green Onions,” a soul instrumental that’s permeated pop culture since. Unbendable tenacity marks his decades-spanning career, but while he happily lent his talents and signature Hammond organ to the likes of Soul Asylum and John Lee Hooker, he neglected to release any albums behind his own name for two decades. That changed with 2009’s Potato Hole, and he follows up that Grammy winner with the new The Road From Memphis, an autobiographical work featuring guest vocals from Lou Reed, Jim James, The National’s Matt Berninger, and production from The Roots’ ?uestlove.

Updated 05/10/2011