“Time is Tight” (Booker T. & the M.G.’s)

It wouldn’t be instrumental music week here at the Classic Song of the Day blog without a tune by Memphis’ best, Booker T. & the M.G.’s. So today’s classic instrumental song of the day is “Time is Tight,” one of the group’s biggest hits. Released as a single in February of 1969, “Time is Tight” peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100, #9 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, and #7 on the R&B chart. It was also a top ten hit in Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the UK. It was their second-biggest hit, behind only the equally classic “Green Onions.”

“Time is Tight” is a tight little jam written by all four members of the M.G.’s—organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald “Duck” Dunn, and drummer extraordinaire Al Jackson Jr. It was originally intended to be part of the soundtrack to the 1968 movie, UpTight; the version in the film is a little faster and a little longer than the one released as a single.

You may recognize “Time is Tight” as the music played as the intro for the Blues Brothers (AKA John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd). The Blues Brothers version is somewhat amped up in order to get the audience’s juices flowing, and is mashed together with bits of Otis Redding’s “I Can’t Turn You Loose.” Note that original M.G.’s members Steve Cropper and Duck Dunn also were part of the Blues Brothers band, so there’s a little bit of authenticity going on there.

Speaking of the M.G.’s, Booker T. and the boys were essentially the house rhythm section for Stax Records during the 1960s. Booker, Steve, Duck, and Al played on literally hundreds of records for the label, including “Hold On, I’m Comin'” and “Soul Man” for Sam and Dave; “Walking the Dog” for Rufus Thomas; “Who’s Making Love” for Johnny Taylor; “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” and the original version of “Respect” for Otis Redding; “In the Midnight Hour” and “634-5789” for Wilson Pickett; “Knock On Wood” for Eddie Floyd; and many, many more.

On their own, Booker T. & the M.G.’s scored a number of hits on both the mainstream and R&B charts. Their biggest hits included “Green Onions” (#1 in 1962), “Hip Hug-Her” (#37 in 1967), a cover of the Rascals’ “Groovin’” (#21 in 1967), “Soul Limbo” (#17 in 1968), and the movie theme, “Hang ’em High” (#9 in 1968). Plus “Time is Tight” (#6 in 1969), of course.

Like most of the other groups of studio musicians around the nation at that time, Booker T. & the M.G.’s were an integrated group; Jones and Jackson were Black guys and Cropper and Dunn were white guys and they played together like brothers. Nobody sees (or hears) color when you’re trying to create hit records.

Booker T. and the M.G.’s were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. Booker T. Jones and Steve Cropper are both alive and active today, ages 80 and 83, respectively. Duck Dunn passed away in 2012, age 70; Al Jackson Jr. was murdered in 1975, just 39 years of age.

And here’s today’s extra special daily bonus video of the day, Booker T. Jones, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, and Al Jackson Jr. (AKA Booker T. & the M.G.’s) playing “Time is Tight” live at the Oakland Coliseum on January 31, 1970. They were opening for Creedence Clearwater Revival, and you can see the members of that group watching in awe from offstage. That would’ve been one helluva concert to see.