Booker T. & The MG’S got their start as The Mar-Keys in the late 1950s.  The Mar-Keys, and later Booker T. & The MG’S, were an instrumental Soul group.  In the early 1960s, Booker T. Jones became a stronger presence in The Mar-Keys and the name was adjusted to reflect this.  Booker T. & The MG’S comprised just four musicians, Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr.  When horns were added, the name The Mar-Keys was used, otherwise the four were known as Booker T. & The MG’S.

One of the first singles Booker T. & The MG’S released, Green Onions, in 1962, was a chart success.  The group became known for several things.  First, they had a unique Soul sound and swinging groove that was the first of its kind.

Secondly, Booker T. & The MG’S were an integrated group at a time when that was almost unheard of.  Booker T. Jones and Al Jackson, Jr. were both African American, and Steve Cropper and Donald “Duck” Dunn were both Caucasian.  All four were from Memphis, Tennessee, and all four grew up listening to music from The Platters, The Drifters, Hank Ballard, Ray Charles and all the white Rockabilly artists to come out of Sun Records.

While releasing records under their own name, The MG’S became the in-studio house band for Stax Records and played on all the singles and albums that other artists came to Stax to record.  These acts featured Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Sam And Dave, Eddie Floyd and Otis Redding amongst many others.  Booker T. & The MG’S became the de facto Soul band of the south.

The album featured here was their only Christmas album and was released in 1966.  Booker T. Jones, (keyboards, mostly Hammond B-3 organ), Steve Cropper (electric guitar), Donald “Duck” Dunn (not an original founding member, but joined early on, bass) and Al Jackson, Jr. (drums) made up the members of Booker T. & The MG’S.  This CD reissue of their Christmas album comes to us from Atlantic Recording Corporation.

The cover of the CD is not a replica of the original album cover, but it is an exact replica of the album cover used on LP reissues starting in 1967, a year after the original album was released.  The cover artwork features olde-time Santa Clauses standing side by side in a row.  There are only two different Santas, they are just repeated over and over.  Each is standing in front of a bag of toys, and each is holding a small Christmas tree and some gifts.  Across the top of the front cover is an evergreen garland decorated with bells and lit candles.  The band name and the album title appear between the Santa’s and the garland.  All is presented against a red background.

The back of the CD shows a numerical track listing featuring time signatures.  The numbers are in red, and the song titles are in gray.  All is presented against a black background.  Typical copywrite notices appear at the bottom as well as the Atlantic / Atco Remasters Series logo off to the right.

The CD cover comes out and opens twice double to form a large poster of the original back cover of the album, which was unchanged for the later LP reissues that used the Santa cover.  The poster has the band’s name and album title in block letters near the top.  To the left is a numerical track listing that includes writer, arranger and publishing credits.  Also included are time signatures for each song.  A large portion of the back of the original album has a cheerful Christmas greeting from the band.  Their first names are written as autographs below the Christmas greeting.  The Christmas message is bordered by a festive holly leaf border.

When the front cover of the CD is first removed and opened along the first fold, both sides feature a numerical track listing just as on the back of the CD, but with larger print, it takes up most of both sides on the inside.  More detailed information is given, including writer, arranger and publishing credits, just as on the back of the original album.  All lettering is just as on the back of the CD, with the numbers in red and the song titles in gray.  After the song list, production notes for the original album are listed in yellow.

As with many CD covers that open along a single fold-out, the back of the cover has a list of other Stax / Volt albums available in the Atlantic & Atco Remasters Series.  These are presented in yellow against a black background.  In the bottom right corner is the Atlantic & Atco Remasters Series logo.

This is a unique Christmas album in many ways.  First, it’s an all-instrumental Christmas album.  Second, even though Booker T. & The MG’S were a Soul band, more specifically, a Memphis Soul band, this Christmas album has more of a Lounge feeling to it.  Most arrangements are jazzy in nature and many of the songs are not easily recognizable until the melody really kicks in.

The songs are a mix of a few traditional Christmas hymns, secular 20^th century Christmas songs and a couple of old English carols.  Surprisingly, none of the songs are original Christmas songs.

The CD begins with Jingle Bells.  Although the song is easily recognizable, the arrangement swings with a Lounge beat.  Booker T. Jones employs the Hammond B-3 organ to dominate the arrangement.  Steve Cropper takes a nice Rockabilly guitar solo in the middle before Booker T. returns with the Hammond B-3.  Donald “Duck” Dunn and Al Jackson, Jr. keep time in the background.  Sleigh bells accompany the song all the way through.

With the 2^nd song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, the pace is more moderate.  And very moderate for this usually up-tempo familiar Christmas song.  The Hammond B-3 is again used to dominate the arrangement while Steve Cropper assists with the melody.  Al Jackson, Jr. keeps time with the simple drum accompaniment.

The 3^rd song, Winter Wonderland, has a moderate tempo while the band attacks this song with a funky, jazzy arrangement.  Steve Cropper and Booker T. achieve the melody in their own style while Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass is more of a presence than on previous songs.

The 4^th song, White Christmas, has a little “Wilson Pickett” flavored introduction.  Booker T. Jones switches over to the piano for the melody.  The rest of The MG’s stay behind to keep time and keep the rhythm going.  About halfway through, the Hammond B-3 joins the piano.  I’m not sure if those two keyboards were double tracked or Booker T. is playing both at the same time.

For the 5^th song, The Christmas Song, the Hammond again dominates the arrangement.  Steve Cropper has a stronger presence in this song.  His guitar glides through the chords with a determined sensibility.  Overall, the mood is somber.  Al Jackson, Jr. and Donald Dunn stay back to keep time.

With the 6^th song, Silver Bells, the arrangement swings more so than any previous song since the opening song Jingle Bells.  While the Hammond B-3 is still the dominating instrument, the electric guitar has a stronger presence, especially in the beginning of the song.  Al Jackson, Jr. exhibits a larger presence in the arrangement as well with a rolling drum pattern.  Towards the end, everyone else drops out leaving Booker T. and the Hammond to finish the song by themselves.  This song has that Booker T. & The MG’S signature sound as they were known for.

Merry Christmas Baby, the 7^th song, features a bluesy arrangement of solo guitar while Booker T. holds back on the Hammond B-3.  This is an opportunity for Steve Cropper to shine with his guitar technique.  Al Jackson, Jr. takes on a bigger role as well, making this a guitar and drum song, while the Hammond B-3 stays back with the subtle chord changes.

The 8^th song, Blue Christmas, returns the Hammond B-3 back to the forefront.  The arrangement is almost all Hammond B-3 and delivered in a soulful, somber mood.  Yes, I can hear the drums faintly as they keep the time; same with Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass playing.  And there is Steve Cropper, providing subtle lead guitar work, but it is almost all Hammond B-3 organ.

I find the 9^th song, Sweet Little Jesus Boy, to be an unusual choice for the band.  Only because it is the most sacred of the three traditional Christmas hymns and not one of the most common Christmas songs.  The Hammond B-3 delivers a soulful, somber melody.  Again, the rest of The MG’S stay back.  It’s hard to hear their parts, but they are there, mostly to keep time.  Steve Cropper shows up occasionally with some guitar chords that add more substance, but this is all Booker T. and his Hammond B-3.

Again, with Silent Night, the mood is somber and soulful.  Steve Cropper maintains the rhythm with a repeating guitar pattern.  After a while, the Hammond B-3 comes in to provide a church-like melody.  Hearing this arrangement, you would think you just stepped into a large cathedral for service.

With the 11^th song, We Three Kings, Booker T. Jones uses the Hammond B-3 as the dominate instrument.  Again, the feeling of being in church returns.  This is almost all Booker T. Jones.  Al Jackson, Jr. keeps time with a slow drum pattern.

The final song on the album has all The MG’S joining together for a rousing close to the CD.  We Wish You A Merry Christmas opens with Donald “Duck” Dunn’s bass for the intro, then Steve Cropper produces subtle guitar chords while Booker T. takes over the arrangement with the Hammond B-3.  The previous five songs have all been somber, soulful arrangements.  This song brightens up the CD with the last song.

This CD has the signature sound that Booker T. & The MG’S were known for; laid back, soul grooves and that distinct Hammond B-3 organ.  Many of the arrangements are slow, soulful and somber.  And even though most of their Soul records were the exact opposite, this Christmas album shows each member’s talents very well.  It was how well Booker T. & The MG’S worked together that made them so unique.

I catalog this CD as Lounge music because it’s an instrumental Christmas album with some hip overtones.  This CD reissue may not appeal to a lot of people because it is “Christmassy” in song titles only.  The Christmas music presented here is a little different from the other dominate organ Christmas music by Virgil Fox, Ken Griffin and Earl Grant.  To me, even though Virgil Fox and Ken Griffin both use the Hammond B-3, (I think), their Christmas music is more reverent in the way they deliver it.  Earl Grant put out a Christmas record, also in 1966, that is similar to Booker T. & The MG’S’, but this is still a little different.

This Christmas album is smokey, somber and soulful and more like being in a Jazz club than church.  With that being said, this may not go over so well with die hard traditional Christmas music fans.  If they are there when this plays, you may find them heading to the door shortly.  There is nothing wrong with the songs on here, they’re just not the upbeat, festive, cheerful Christmas music everyone expects to hear.  These all play well in a large Christmas playlist where you might hear one every half hour, but I would hesitate to play it from start to finish unless your crowd is hip to Jazz music.

As I’ve said many times in this blog, there is a lot of different Christmas music out there and this is a good one to have because it is so unique.  After all, it was 1966 and everyone was issuing Christmas records, and Booker T. & The MG’S put their signature sound to all these Christmas songs.  If nothing else, this is a Christmas album with some really unique arrangements of familiar Christmas songs.

I give this CD :

****