American instrumental rhythm & blues and soul combo, formed 1962 in Memphis, Tennessee. Best remembered as the in-house backing band of the Stax record label. The band’s name is a combination of organist Booker T. Jones’s first names and the acronym for “Memphis Group”, MG. Other members were Al Jackson Jr. (drums), Steve Cropper (guitar), and Lewis Steinberg (bass guitar) who was replaced by Donald “Duck” Dunn in 1963.
Melting Pot is a 1971 studio album recorded by Booker T. & the M.G.'s for Stax Records. It is the last album to feature the group's classic lineup of Jones, Cropper, Dunn, and Jackson, and featured longer jam-oriented songs for the first time on an MG's album.
The review in Rolling Stone magazine was very positive, concluding in its final paragraph:
"Altogether, as an album, it works really well, with the group's customary taste and precision balanced against a new looseness and a return to earlier, funky playing patterns. That's more than enough to make it the best Booker T. album in some time, the Memphis Gas of the Year, and a Major Rock Event for everyone."
