Talk:Booker T. & the M.G.'s

Refs needed

My edits were just for style, grammar, punctuation, consistency, clarity. There will need to be references added for this article too probably. Bebop 00:19, 27 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Band and article naming

Apostrophe

surely the apostrophe is erroneous? Shouldn't the page (and the band) be called Booker T. and the M.G.s? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.56.88.178 (talk) 22:01, 12 September 2006

Correct title

Should the correct title of the band be "Booker T. & the MG's"? If so, could it be moved to the correct article page - I was unable to (due to double links etc.). It may, however, be considered that "Booker T. & the MGs" is the correct title - if so, could it also be moved.
Also, if If "Booker T. & the MG's" is considered the correct title, then referrals to the band in the article as "Booker T. & the MGs" also should be changed. Arite 23:56 & :59, 2 & 00:03, 3 July 2007 (UTC) (4 edits)

"Booker T. & the MG's" is correct as per an album cover I have, and also as per Encyclopedia Britannica (though Booker T himself incorrectly refers to the group as "Booker T. & the MGs" on his official homepage.) This article's header calls the group "Booker T. & the M.G.s" and then starts referring to it as "Booker T. & the MGs".
To the person who thought that having an apostrophe is erroneous, it is considered correct style to insert an apostrophe when pluralising an acronym. The apostrophe can in general also be omitted, though it is more common to include it. David Broadfoot 01:24, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

David Broadfoot is correct about the use of apostrophes. The problem is that "M.G.'s" isn't an acronym. An acronym is a word formed by the initials of a phrase, such as Nato (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) or Laser (Light Amplified by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). "M.G.s", "MGs" or "M.G.'s" are all pronounced the same way - I am not familiar with IPA so I will phrase it as 'emm jeez'. If it were an acronym, it would be pronounced something like m'gs. The fact is, there seems to be no definitive way to spell the band's name (making them arguably unique in popular music history). I have compiled a list on my talk page of the way it has been spelled on their original albums; from this list it becomes clear that the most-used spelling of the name was "Booker T. & The M.G.'s". Note the capitalised "t" in "The", the spelling of "M.G." rather than "MG", and the grammatically incorrect apostrophe. I propose that this should be adopted as the standard Wikipedia spelling of the band's name, since it is the one most often used on their own album covers. I suggest this not because I think it's the 'correct' spelling, as there seems to be no such thing, but purely in the interests of consistency. Lexo (talk) 23:30, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

But what about the punctuation? (see below) Acronymns aside, the second full stop seems to argue for an apostrophe. But should the full stop even be there? The origin of the abbreviation might even argue one way or the other, but as yet we have no consensus! Martinevans123 (talk) 21:24, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Band name

The article states that 'MG' stood for 'Memphis Group', not the car. The source of this is given as a website which doesn't itself provide a source for the claim. However, Chips Moman explicitly stated in Peter Guralnick's book Sweet Soul Music that the band was named after the car, but that Stax Records subsequently claimed in press material that it stood for 'Memphis Group'. However, I don't at present own a copy of the Guralnick book (I was reading a copy in a shop); can anyone who does provide a citation? Moman's claim seems better-referenced to me than the anonymous website. Lexo (talk) 15:06, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

Update - no need, I got a copy of the book and have revised the article to reflect that there is at least dispute about the name. Lexo (talk) 16:12, 3 June 2008 (UTC)

• The article appeared to me to consider BTJ the authority for doubting the car version. He supported the car version in his interview with Terry Gross, broadcast today, this was a rebroadcast of a 2007 interview with BTJ.
  --Jerzy•t 19:39, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
  
  • In a 2007 interview with Booker T. Jones on NPR's "Fresh Air" hosted by Terri Gross, Booker T. stated that the name of the band was in fact named after an MG. of a band member. For more detailed information, please listen to the interview which is probably available on the NPR website. The interview was rebroadcast May 1, 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.204.24.21 (talk) 17:22, 2 May 2009 (UTC)
    • The pure-quill audio is where it should be, on WHYY's site, w/ a lk from the the interview's page. I haven't done your job for you by trying to find whatever you construe as you state, but at 31:03, in the last minute of the broadcast version of the interview, she says "Can I ask you about your name?" After discussing his personal name he mentions "Al Jackson, the drummer", at 31:29 as the coiner and at 31:38 immediately continues (her response included)

      there was a little ... this guy, this engineer on the song, Chips Moman, was driving this little British Leyland sports car, it's called an MG, I don't know if you know if you've ever seen those.

      Uh-huh.

      And he had it parked outside, he used to do tricks with it and everything, in the snow, you know, and so they, he [clearly Jackson again] looked out the window and he said "Booker T and the, uh, -- the MGs". [laughs]

    --Jerzy•t 23:50, 2 May 2009 (UTC)
    

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was move to Booker T. & the M.G.'s as suggested by User:AjaxSmack. JPG-GR (talk) 03:44, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Booker T. & the M.G.s → Booker T. & The M.G.'s — I have attempted to determine whether or not there is a definitive way to spell and punctuate the band's name, and have concluded that there is no such thing. However, there is clearly a problem regarding the inconsistent ways in which the name is spelled on Wikipedia. On my talk page, I reproduce a comparative table of the way the band's name was spelled on its studio albums and some related albums during its own lifetime; a simple statistical analysis of this table determines that the mode, or most-used spelling, was Booker T. & The M.G.'s. I propose that this should become the standard way that Wikipedia spells the band's name, not because it is the "correct" way (there seems to be no such thing, and I do not want to violate WP: ORIGINAL RESEARCH by suggesting that I think this is it) but purely as a style guideline. —Lexo (talk) 23:40, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Survey

Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with *'''Support''' or *'''Oppose''', then sign your comment with ~~~~. Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's naming conventions.

• Although the research for the nomination is impressive, article titling should avoid merely copying the "logo" name on album covers per WP:NC ("Do not replicate stylized typography in logos and album art..."). Support use of the apostrophe (cf. The B-52's) as common, acceptable English usage but oppose the capitalized article ("The") per a liberal interpretation of the WP:NC quotre above, i.e. support Booker T. & the M.G.'s. — AjaxSmack 01:23, 7 June 2008 (UTC)

Discussion

Any additional comments:

untitled

In a 2007 interview with Booker T. Jones on NPR's "Fresh Air" hosted by Terri Gross, Booker T. stated that the name of the band was in fact named after an MG. of a band member. For more detailed information, please listen to the interview which is probably available on the NPR website. The interview was rebroadcast May 1, 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.204.24.21 (talk) 17:22, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

grocery.bill?

I hear what you say Arite and Lexo, but grocer's apostrophe ...

• Green Onions: M.G.s
• Soul Dressing: MGs
• And Now!: MG'S
• In the Christmas Spirit: MG'S
• Hip Hug-Her: MG's
• Back to Back: MG'S
• Doin' Our Thing: MG'S
• Soul Limbo: M.G.'S
• Uptight: ?
• The Booker T Set: M.G.'s
• McLemore Avenue: ?
• Melting Pot: M.G.'s
• The MGs: MG's
• Universal Language: MGs
• That's the Way It Should Be: MG's

or grocer's full.stops?

period

or wiki styleguide?

Martinevans123 (talk) 21:29, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

• I'm not going to try to answer them, but IMO your obviously significant effort will be wasted unless you make it clear how many questions you are really posing, and frame them as full sentences.
  --Jerzy•t 19:35, 1 May 2009 (UTC)
  

Soul Limbo as cricket theme

This was indeed first used on television, but in recent years has been adopted by Test Match Special on the radio. The previous version of the article implied that the TMS name was used for TV as well, which is wrong: it's purely a radio programme. Cricket on the BBC is usually just called Cricket (imaginative, eh?) or something mildly more descriptive such as Cricket: The Ashes. Loganberry (Talk) 02:21, 18 December 2006 (UTC)

Unsourced and Essay templates

I added the two templates to the top; the unsourced and casual tone templates. Anchoress 04:37, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Isaac Hayes

It doesn't seem right to call Isaac Hayes a member of the MGs. Even though he did house band work with the MGs for Stax he never recorded as a member of the MGs. Or toured with them. I'm looking for a bit of discussion here - I may be wrong.--WBerta 21:13, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

performing with the band in the capacity of frontman and main artist without 'featured' credit would, to me, constitute being a member of the band.Tracyallenparks (talk) 20:20, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

But the M.G.'s were the back-up band for every artist on Stax. Using that logic, we'd need to include Eddie Floyd, Otis Redding, et. al as "former members." I don't think anyone considers these singers to have been members of the M.G.s. Rather they were Stax recording artists who had the M.G.s as their band. It would make more sense to call this list "Associated acts" or something similar. Hult041956 (talk) 21:31, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Further, the citation given (to history-of-rock.com) to support this doesn't do so. It's Cropper, Duck, Jackson, and Jones, plus a former bassist and a later drummer. Hult041956 (talk) 21:39, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Steve Jordan

In this article, there is no mention of Steve Jordan, the drummer that was on their final album, "That's The Way It Should Be". He is currently a member of John Mayer's band and the John Mayer Trio along with John Mayer and Pino Palladino. Steve Jordan is listed as playing "Drums, Percussion, Congas, Bongos, Guitars, Vocals". He is also listed as an Associate Producer along with Donald "Duck" Dunn on that album. I believe, however, that he does not play on the tracks for which James Gadson is listed as playing drums on: "Let's Wait Awhile", "Have A Heart", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".

If you could check on this and please see if an addition needs to be made, that would be greatly appreciated. Nicknsbass 18:49, 18 August 2007 (UTC)

What does M.G. stand for?

Does anyone know what M.G. actually stands for? I think that this should be noted in the article.Hoops gza (talk) 19:01, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Perhaps it's Memphis Group?Hoops gza (talk) 19:02, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Already in the article. Go to the bottom under "Name". Ckruschke (talk) 16:16, 8 November 2012 (UTC)Ckruschke