Green Onions (Booker T. and The MG's) - Organ Cover - Nord C1 Hammond B-3 Clonewheel Organ Clavia

This is my cover version of Green Onions. The 'trademark' chorded chorus and it's bass line comes from an interview I saw with Booker T. in Keyboard Magazine. The solo is a copycat version of Booker T's solo from the 1962 original recording. I have tried to capture in detail all ornaments/fast notes/grace notes that Booker T plays during his four chorus long solo. He plays them deliberately and frequently, and they are very important for the song.

The left hand bass line I'm playing during the solo is picked from Lewie Steinberg's bass line from the original '62 recording.

I'm playing at around the same tempo as in the original recording.

I have also uploaded tutorial videos covering the chords and left hand bass lines I'm using for this version.

If you are interested in my lengthy (1700+ words) written guide for learning how to play Green Onions, ask in a comment or a message and I will send my guide to your YouTube message inbox. The guide also contains a number of general tips.

Green Onions is composed and first recorded by Booker T. and The MG's in 1962.

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The organ is a Clavia Nord C1 - a Hammond B-3 clonewheel organ.

Nord C1 Registrations and Settings:
Upper 88 8740 000 first solo. 88 8840 000 second solo. No Chorus. No Percussion.
Lower 87 7000 000. No Chorus.
Bass lower manual 70.
Leslie simulator Stop position.
Equalizer Treble -10dB, Mid 0dB, Bass 0dB.
Overdrive/Drive 2.
Reverb Hall, Soft, 40%.
Tonewheel mode Vintage 2 (high level of tonewheel crosstalk and cable leakage artefacts).

The sound is recorded line out from the organ. No additional external effects, external amplifiers or speakers are used.
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Category:

Music

Tags:

• Green
• Onions
• Booker
• T.
• and
• The
• MG's
• Nord
• C1
• Hammond
• B-3
• Clonewheel
• Organ
• Clavia

[SCscreamGT]

I'm not sure if you are keeping on the swing...

[rounder2u]

Hi SCscreamGT

That lovely hard-defined elusive thing called modern light swing :-)

Well, check out, please, my Centilater Blues and let me hear if you think the swing is improved or worse by a few practicing hours since this take was done :-)

Keep swinging,

Rounder

[thedeadlyrambo1]

Wow...I am learning to play this at the moment...You amaze me Rounder

[rounder2u]

Hi deadlyrambo

Thanks!

If you find some use of this take, and my other three Green Onions tutorial clips when learning the song, that's great :-)

Keep swinging,

Rounder

[MrSupermoto990]

i could listen to that bass line all day

[rounder2u]

Hi MrSupermoto

The bass line pattern (during those 4 solo choruses) can esily get you hooked, and it is also a great foundation for improvisation :-)

Keep swinging,

Rounder

[rounder2u]

Hi snorlaxx

Booker is a regular english name.

There was a political leader in USA around the year 1900 named Booker T Washington, and the organist Booker T Jones (who composed Green Onions) is named after him.

I'm not sure though about the origin of the name of the wrestler Booker T :-) but wikipedia says his real name is Booker Tio Huffman.

Keep swinging,

Rounder

[snorlaxx1337911]

@rounder2u i was just kidding obviously =) so booker t seems to be a regular name or rather an artist name in english?

[rounder2u]

Thanks kempouk!

Sure I can appreciate Booker T, and especially I am truly amazed by 'The Incredible" Jimmy Smith, who most single-handedly in the late '50s lifted the jazz organ from, well, kind of a novelty to a true soul jazz tour de force in music. Not to forget Richard 'Groove' Holmes and Joey DeFrancesco and Barbara Dennerlein, and more in the list of really great jazz organ players.

Keep swinging,

Rounder

[kempouk]

good effort, you can appreciate just how good brooker is eh