Jones was born in
Memphis, Tennessee, on November 12, 1944. He was named after his father, Booker T. Jones Sr., who was named in honor of
Booker T. Washington, the educator. Jones Sr. was a science teacher at Memphis High School, providing the family with a relatively stable, lower middle-class lifestyle. Jones was musically a
child prodigy, playing the
oboe,
saxophone,
trombone,
double bass, and piano at school and organ at church. Jones attended
Booker T. Washington High School, the
alma mater of
Rufus Thomas, and collaborated with future stars like
Isaac Hayes's writing partner
David Porter, saxophonist
Andrew Love of
the Memphis Horns, soul singer/songwriter
William Bell, and
Earth, Wind & Fire's singer/songwriter
Maurice White. Jones's entry into professional music came at the age of 16, when he played
baritone saxophone on Satellite (soon to be
Stax) Records' first hit, "Cause I Love You", by
Carla and
Rufus Thomas.
Willie Mitchell hired Jones for his band, in which Jones started on sax and later moved to bass. It was here that he met
Al Jackson Jr., whom he brought to Stax. Simultaneously, Jones formed a combo with
Maurice White and
David Porter, in which he played guitar. While hanging around the Satellite Record Shop run by
Estelle Axton, co-owner of Satellite Records with her brother
Jim Stewart, Jones met record clerk
Steve Cropper, who would become one of the MGs when the group formed in 1962. Besides Jones on organ and Cropper on guitar, Booker T. and the MGs featured
Lewie Steinberg on bass guitar (eventually replaced by
Donald "Duck" Dunn), and Al Jackson Jr. on drums. While still in high school, Jones co-wrote the group's classic
instrumental "
Green Onions", which was a massive hit in 1962. Bob Altshuler wrote the sleeve notes on the first Booker T. & the M.G.'s album
Green Onions released by Stax Records in 1962: :[His] musical talents became apparent at a very early age. By the time he entered high school, Booker was already a semi-professional, and quickly recognized as the most talented musician in his school. He was appointed director of the school band for four years, and in addition, organized the school dance orchestra which played for proms throughout the Mid-South. In the classroom, he concentrated on the studies of music theory and harmony. ... Booker's multiple activities earned him a coveted honour, that of being listed in the students' "Who's Who of American High Schools." Booker's first instrument was the string bass, but he soon switched to the organ. Booker came to the attention of record executive Jim Stewart in Memphis, and while still in high school he worked as a staff musician for Stax Records, appearing as sideman on many recording dates for that label. It became obvious that one day Booker would be ready to record under his own name and several months later Booker's first recording session was set. Over the next few years, Jones divided his time between studying classical music composition, composing and transposition at
Indiana University, playing with the MGs on the weekends back in Memphis, serving as a
session musician with other Stax acts, and writing songs that became widely regarded as classics. He wrote, with
Eddie Floyd, "
I've Never Found a Girl (To Love Me Like You Do)",
Otis Redding's "I Love You More Than Words Can Say", and, with William Bell, bluesman
Albert King's "
Born Under a Bad Sign" (later popularized by the British rock group
Cream). In 1970, Jones moved to California and stopped playing sessions for Stax after becoming frustrated with Stax's treatment of the MGs as employees rather than musicians. Even though Jones was given the title of Vice President at Stax before leaving, as he put it, "There were titles given (to us) but we didn't actually make the decisions." While still under contract to Stax, he appeared on
Stephen Stills's eponymous album (1970). The 1971 album
Melting Pot would be the last
Booker T. & the M.G.'s album issued on Stax. Making the charts as a solo artist in 1981 with "I Want You", he produced
Bill Withers's 1971 debut album
Just as I Am (on which Jones played guitar as well as keyboards),
Rita Coolidge's album
Love Me Again (1978) and
Willie Nelson's album
Stardust (1978). Jones has also added his keyboard playing to artists ranging from the R&B/pop/blues of
Ray Charles to the folk rock/country rock of
Neil Young. In 2009 he released a new solo album,
Potato Hole, recorded with the
Drive-By Truckers, and featuring
Neil Young. He performed at the
Bonnaroo Music Festival with Drive-By Truckers on June 6, 2009, with a set including most tracks from
Potato Hole as well as some Truckers tracks. On January 31, 2010,
Potato Hole won the Best Instrumental Album award at the
52nd Annual Grammy Awards. He is featured on the
Rancid album
Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), playing a
Hammond B-3 on the track "Up to No Good". Jones also played his B-3 on the track "If It Wasn't For Bad" from the
Elton John and
Leon Russell 2010 collaboration album titled
The Union. The track was nominated at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. In 2011, Jones released
The Road from Memphis. The backing band included
Questlove (drums),
"Captain" Kirk Douglas (guitar) and
Owen Biddle (bass) from
the Roots as well as former
Motown guitarist
Dennis Coffey and percussionist Stewart Killen. The album features vocals by
Yim Yames,
Matt Berninger,
Lou Reed,
Sharon Jones and Booker T. himself, as well as lyrics contributed by his daughter/manager Liv Jones. Jones also recorded with party band
the Gypsy Queens on their eponymous album. On February 12, 2012,
The Road from Memphis won at the
54th Annual Grammy Awards for
Best Pop Instrumental Album. Jones holds a total of four
Grammy Awards. Jones received an honorary doctorate degree from Indiana University's
Jacobs School of Music at its 2012 undergraduate commencement. Jones originally attended Indiana University in the 1960s, even staying after his smash-hit
Stax Records recordings. Jones was featured on organ for singer
Kelly Hogan on Hogan's 2013 release on Anti-Records,
I Like to Keep Myself in Pain. In June 2013, Jones released his 10th album,
Sound The Alarm, on Stax Records after originally leaving the label more than 40 years previously in 1971. The album features guest artists
Anthony Hamilton,
Raphael Saadiq, Jay James,
Mayer Hawthorne,
Estelle,
Vintage Trouble,
Gary Clark Jr.,
Luke James, and Booker's son Ted Jones. That summer, he performed at the TD Kitchener Blues Festival in
Ontario. On September 1, 2017, Jones performed live at the Royal Albert Hall
BBC Proms with
Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra in a tribute concert honoring the 50th anniversary of Stax Records alongside
Steve Cropper,
Sam Moore,
William Bell and British artists
Beverley Knight,
Ruby Turner,
James Morrison and
Tom Jones. ==Personal life==