Steve Cropper wasn't just telling a story, he was recounting a piece of history. Thank you for posting.

THE coolest song EVER recorded. There IS never a bad time to listen to Green Onions.

It's just crazy. These guys made better music by accident then most did on purpose.

Thanks Steve, Booker T and all the band members for giving us Green Onions, one of the greatest songs of any genre ever made.

One of the most iconic song in musical history! There would be no car scene in American Graffiti without Green Onions!!

Green Onions is one of the greatest songs ever recorded

I was one of those people blown away by Green Onions. I still love it to this day.

Green Onions is a MONSTER. Was then is now.

Green Onions is one of the greatest sounds ever put on tape !!! Green Onions has EVERYTHING vibe, feel, groove, tone, coolness !!! THANK YOU STEVE !

“We got green onions hangin all over the studio, precious”. Wolfman Jack. American Graffiti.

"Crop Dog" not only knows what to play, but what NOT to play. Green Onions is hands down one of the best grooves ever sent out over the airwaves!

Mr Cropper tells the story of this iconic American song in such an unpretentious way. You really have a knack for getting folks feeling comfortable to open up

Imagine Steve Cropper showing up at your station with 45 of Green Onions!

Hey guys, remember when DJs were allowed to think and do stuff? Those were great times.

Steve was in the LEGENDARY ‘BLUES BROTHERS’! superb player!

I’ve told this story before. My sister and brother and I were playing a board game and the radio was on in the background. A song came on the radio and I jumped up from the game and ran to stand by the radio and listen to the song. I had never heard anything so great! I asked my sister what the song was called and she said “Green Onions”. I think I was about 5 years old at the time. It is still one of my favorite songs. What great musicians!

It's NO accident. PURE talent,

God bless Steve Cropper. Every kid that picks up a guitar or loves R&B ought to be familiar with him. I love not only his pickin’, but his charisma, humor and attitude. Hope he’s around for a long time to come.

One thing to take away from this is how direct the process of making music was! We had a studio in the 60s nearby that could cut you a demo! You could literally walk out with a record to play. And take it to a radio station that day beam it out to all the kids! Very under appreciated era that was super influential and has affected many decades of culture around the world... it was a good moment in time! Thanks Steve

The accidental monster hit!! I have 4 sons with ridiculous age differences. The oldest born in 1967 and the youngest in 1991... they all recognize Green Onions as soon as they hear the first couple of bars... this song is truly ageless!! Thanks to Booker T, Steve Cropper, Al Jackson Jr. and Lewie Steinberg...🎼💚

I'm a Memphian and we are so proud of these guys...

Made a HUGE impression on me as a 16-year old mod organ player in London. I'd go to Carnaby Street and I'd hear it in the cool clothes shops and stop in my tracks and just listen. One of the greatest organ classics of all time. "Billy's Bag" was another!

LOVED this song from the very first time I heard it as a child, at some point in the 70s. The intro NEVER fails to get me slinking and moving. Just a brilliant groove to this song.

1962 I was 17, we moved to the end of town. Across the street was a bar that was owned by a black family. His boys were my age.On the jukebox Green Onions was played at least 20 times a day and possibly more. I love that record.

What a great story, Steve Cropper seems like such a cool guy. Green onions takes me way back.. I’m 59

Reminds me of how McCartney went for weeks playing this little thing with no song title or even lyrics yet. All he had was "Scrambled Eggs...". That morphed into "Yesterday". And just like "Green Onions", the rest is history.

My favorite instrumental. Loved it 40 years before I finally knew the title.

I love this historical story !

I was 6 years old and remember hearing Green Onions on the radio, I thought it was the best song ever, lol and still do to this day. It's the Jam baby ya

You would never know how perfect this was by listening to the interview.

Such a nice, polite down-to-Earth guy, not to mention TALENTED! "Green Onions" is one of my all-time FAVORITE songs and has been since I was a little girl! I don't think I could EVER get tired of it! Thanks so much for sharing this. With all that's going on these days, we need to find ways to re-live better times, especially ones involving awesome music such as "Green Onions!"

What a great way to first air a song. Time proved how great this classic is. Top ten songs of all Rockdom

When an education I’m getting here. This is old, and I guess so am I, but never knew this. Thanx for the post.

The stars in this man's eyes will twinkle for ever!

Green Onions is engrained in my musical DNA. That's Steve "The Colonel" Cropper. Another fine interview clip!

A simple time, when accidents could sell millions of records. Thanks Joe this is a keeper!

Steve Cropper.. you are the Pinnacle of an American Legend.. you are definitely blessed and born with the the touch of a higher power

One of the best songs of all time.

It's the coolest song ever recorded. Thank you so much Booker and Steve! My favourite song of all time.

This was one of the BEST interviews I've ever seen. Fantastic back story. Steve Cropper has always been a favorite.. I might have a t-shirt made up that just has the old Volt logo and 102 below it. Only true Blues music geeks will get it...

I've always thought that green onions was perfect. Very few recordings get that rating. The recording, the vibe, perfect.

He's a great storyteller

i came across this guy when i was 8, in 1988, when i first saw the blues brothers. what a guitarist. peace n love folks. 93.

I've listened to this story 5 times already. It's amazing! A musical miracle, in it's purity. Thank you all!

I had a band clear back in 1980 and this is always the very last song we'd playing at gigs before we quit for the night. Had no idea anything about it until just now.

What a wonderful story. Mr. Cropper is a great source of musical history. Great interview! Thanks!

I love these stories that seem like it's just an accident but .... nothing important is an accident .. great tune .. played it back in the day ...

I saw the Stones in London in '95, and I'll always remember "Green Onions" blasting away from the speakers before the show started. Mick, Keef, Charlie and Ronnie know how to get a party going!

It's a great life story of how someone not showing up for a session helped set the stage for some great music that would be heard by millions ! Thanks for having the desire and foresight to get these stories recorded 👍

DJ played it 4 times in a row. That was my reaction to this tune when I heard it in the 80s.

One of the all time great songs.

I own a 32 coupe. Needless to say, Green Onions is the first song on my playlist when I drive it. THE song of an era!!

My band, Glass, had the honor to open for Booker T & the MGs in a movie theater in Saugus or Newhall, CA in '67 or '68. Still have very fond memories of what a great time we had. Carl Belknap

Remember seeing this guy in the Blues Brothers. Then on David Letterman as part of the band. So cool. These session guys have some amazing stories. Glen Campbell had so many cool stories. They need to be archived

Great story, well told! Had the privilege of seeing Steve Cropper perform at the Ryman Auditorium a few years back as part of Peter Frampton's Guitar Circus. What a fabulous evening of music!

Fantastic! I was fortunate enough to meet him and hear his storytelling abilities back in the 80s and he was so… Cool… There is no other word for him: well, Astonishing guitarist, lauded father, massively loved musician… Cool.

Joe, can't thank you enough for posting these interviews. Priceless to hear the back stories and thoughts of the musicians who actually made the music we all love. Thanks again.

I got my 7 year old Grandson hooked on this Classic Groove. I was about his age when I first heard it. Had to pass it on, hopefully he will do the same.

It was good to hear the history behind this classic, As Steve Cropper is a classic himself.

I talked to Billy Lee Riley once about this session. He claimed that they were doing music for a bank commercial. "Green Onions" was the backing music for the commercial. Billy Lee took a break and never came back to the session so the commercial was never complete. Duck Dunn wasn't on this tune. Lewie Steinberg was the bassist on this one.

One of the coolest songs ever.

Green onions is an all time great song.

Steve Cropper! The Leon of Motown! We close our show with Green Onions.

This is a great story. Kinda funny to make an accidental hit like that. One of my all time favorites.

One of, if not THE coolest keyboard oriented Blues songs of all time.

What a great telling of a great story! If only hits came about organically like that, still. Radio would be so much better for it.

Now check out Booker T's Hang Them High. Steve Cropper does some great lead work on the ending. Made me want to learn to play. Still at it 50+ years later.

He doesn't tell the part of the story that most of us organ players know. So I will. There was no B-3 in the studio, only its baby brother, an M-3 Hammond. M-3s sound good, but it's no B-3. They had no Leslie Speaker, either, but the M-3 has a little speaker down by the player's knees. Booker T held a mic BETWEEN HIS KNEES to record the organ for this record.

one of the best songs ever 💞

It's one of those songs you'll love it from the first moment you hear it. Timeless

Record a cool jam session, get your DJ buddy to play it, make some records, and then go around with a box of records selling them like from a lemonade stand. God, I wish the business was still like that.

This is audio gold. All because a singer is a no show and the engineer rolled tape. Cropper has this story down and knows how to tell it. And Scotty Moore makes a cameo!! Absolutely, fabulous. Can't tell you how many times I played this tune live in the 80's. I love it.

Love these kinds of stories. Oh just messing around warming up and bam!

A tune that sounds great in any era , at any time . Great to hear the story behind the record ! Always sounds menacing and cool !

Saw them back in the mid-90's when they toured as Neil Young's back-up band. What an amazing gig, man.

Soul Dressing is one of the best albums ever. Steve is a genius soloist.

Love these stories and remember the first time I heard green onions. Oh what a night that was over 50 yrs ago.

I have enjoyed listening to Steve Cropper for a very long time. 😎

Great guy and awesome guitar player, he was my neighbor in Memphis graduated with his kid in 1981 along with duck Dunn's nephew Chuck.

What a great story...I love this song and usually listen to it 3 or 4 times in a row before playing something else...

It must have been around 1965, when my Cub Scout group visited a small local AM radio station....KPLS in Santa Rosa, CA. When we were about to leave....the DJ handed each of us 5 or 6 records. Old 45s, that I think he said the station was done with. The only two I can remember. in my stack....were one by Della Reese....& Green Onions . I recall playing disc jockey with my sister's phonograph after that.

Had started picking at age 10 or 11 and learning rhythm behind dad's Wildwood Flower, Spanish Two Step, and Tennessee Waltz. At 12 heard Green Onions. Started doing it on old Silvertone Archtop acoustic. Got into old 3 chord progression R&R, started listening to AM nighttime WLAC with John R blues music and expanded horizons. Just at home old hobby player but Green Onions is always new.

The guy's a legend!!!

Steve Cropper is a wonderful treasure. I also love his speaking voice and the stories he tells about musical life and times. Booker T & the MG's music is cherished.

He just sounds like he’d be a cool guy to hang out with.

In 1978, my grandmother gave me her 1968 Buick Riviera for my first car. She also gave me her favorite road song--"Green Onions"--which she said the dealer gave her for the 8-track in that car when she bought it. It was olive gold with a champagne-colored top, carpets, and damask seats; the padded dash was the same green as the exterior; big chrome wheels and bumpers rounded out the beautiful package. Before that, I was lucky to have heard the band play "Green Onions" and "Time is Tight" when they came to town to open for Creedence Clearwater Revival in the summer of 1970. This has been an enjoyable and informative interview about the making of an immortal classic, and I thank you two gentlemen for bringing it to us.

Possibly the world's most underrated musician, everyone knows his music but very few seem to have heard of him here in the UK. Been one of my personal music heroes since I first got into Otis Redding in '71 at the age of 11.

Green Onions. The epitome of a cool song. Any movie where a guy is confident, sure of himself, prepared, ready to handle any situation, etc. This is the song you play.

Why is this guy not more highly regarded as one of the greats of 60s music?

Thanks for these wonderful stories! I remember the first time I heard Green Onions on my transistor AM radio. Was hook immediately!

I always liked Green Onions and this is a fabulous story from the great Steve Cropper. Thanks Joe! I really enjoyed it!

A happy accident. They're often the best.

Steve Cropper....without tmi ....I was a neighbor in Nashville ....what a southern gentleman

I loved Green Onions so much that I spent a few weeks learning it on the keyboard and mastered it. Probably the most legendary organ piece ever written.

That drive time disc jockey was my dad Reuben T “Mad Lad” Washington! Daddy used to listen to songs for 30 seconds to a minute and put it in the keep pile, or the toss pile! As a little kid, I would literally cry and say , “Daddy you didn’t even give it a chance’. And he would say ‘Lil Princess, I know what I’m listening for’ . I’d ask him if I could have the ones from the tossed pole and he would say yes. I’d take them in my room and listen to every single one, all the way through. I just felt for the people that had made the song and they didn’t get heard! Needless to say. I eventually grew to understand that he was masterful at what he did. And yes, the group ‘Tbe Mad Lads” were named after him!!

Steve shows you how to get out there and promote your music and get it to the masses!

Creativity and serendipity often go hand-in-hand….

Truly, my number one top song ever recorded

Awesome story, Steve Cropper is one of my favorites...along with the rest of the Blues Brothers.

Steve's a favorite of mine as far as blues guys go, he plays on a couple Roy Buchanan songs i love, including a different version of Green Onions that has Roy and Steve trading off soloing. If u like the original Green Onions but wished there was more guitar solo check it out, they were on fire on that one!