Green Onions
Booker T. & the M.G.'s, 1962, from Green Onions. Solo by Steve Cropper.
Cropper's short, sharp Telecaster breaks over Booker T.'s organ are a template for soul guitar.
Green Onions is built on Booker T. Jones's organ riff, but Steve Cropper's guitar breaks are what give it teeth. Playing a Fender Telecaster, he answers the organ with short, stabbing phrases, bright and slightly biting, full of bluesy double-stops and bends that stop just short of excess. The economy is the lesson here: every phrase is brief, rhythmically sharp and leaves space for the groove. That approach became a model for soul guitar, where serving the song mattered more than stretching out. Listen for how Cropper lets notes cut off abruptly, so the silences between phrases become part of the rhythm.
Green Onions by Booker T. & the M.G.'s is featured in our Funk & Soul (#10) list. The solo is played by Steve Cropper and the song was released in 1962.
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Who played the guitar solo on Green Onions?
Steve Cropper played the solo on Booker T. & the M.G.'s's Green Onions (1962).
What guitar was used on the Green Onions solo?
A fender telecaster, according to widely reported accounts.