Mr. James and company are flat out WAILING on this! What a shame we live in such a graceless age today- no one knows how to dance anymore....GREAT Vid!
sadly all too true however i must add that i have not forgotten how to play this way ( drums) the really sad and horrible part is it seems im just lost on this gen of people its as if real motion isnt either heard respected or wanted anymore..so i left the scene what else could i do? beat my head against the wall? i so understand your feelings on this
My gawd is this some music. if this this does not make your legs start bouncing then nothing will. Harry James is Not forgotten. Love the Clarinet Solo!!
My grandfather told me about this song. (the clarinet player) The way it worked was at the end of the song, the trumpets would play that line from "It ain't Necessarily So" and then they would all compete for the highest note. Harry would let them have it for a while and he would try and hit way above everybody else and blow them away. Unfortunately, Harry didn't in this video.
@@Agachisanilles Brilliant! You must be so proud of your grandfather. I think he's the best clarinet player and thoroughly deserved a seat with Harry James. What an honour!
Harry James getting NASTY! Love it! He was a childhood hero - he could play so fast, so high. He could do it all, and all class. What swagger here! The clarinet solo knocked it out of the park. Amazing take on a classic. Thanks for sharing.
That Harry James could swing like this so late in his career is a testament to what a truly great musician he was. Harry may have been the king of the high c's on the trumpet. Only one other trumpeter that probably had the range he had on that instrument and that's probably Louis Armstrong.
My Dad was in the RCAF during WW2 and I grew up listening to this music, but this is the first time I seen or heard this cut. friggin awsome!!!!!!! I love this music
I got to see Harry's band about 5 times back in the mid 70s and the last time in 1981 when I was in high school and college, and I was learning my way around my own horns, before he (HJ) really got sick. Needless to say it was special, and I'm not exaggerating. People talk about bands like this and how nice it would be if they would come back. They won't. And the reason why is probably not what most people would think. The musicians exist to do it. There is no shortage of top flight players who could cut it. But being able to read and cut some charts isn't a band. A band only becomes a "band" when there is enough of a demand for it to exist, which means playing out in front of audiences 5-6-7 nights a week for weeks and months on end... enough time for guys to totally get to know each other and get used to how all 16-18 of them play, and feel a piece of music the same way, and then be able to do it with about 200 arrangements in the books, that are unique to, and were specifically written for the band playing them. They aren't playing published, commercially available jazz band arrangements that are played (and usually butchered to some extent) by just about every other band. What you are witnessing in this video isn't just just a bunch of guys who got together and found a way to relax their way through a (fairly simple) blues. What you are watching is a true legacy band and its leader, who had by this point been leading a band CONTINUOUSLY for 25 years that had firmly established "its own thing". And as the years came and went, different guys came in and others left and they were replaced. But in the process of all that time and experience and evolution, the band also built of a book of a couple thousand charts, most of which had also come and gone. Along the way an identity came into being, that was all its own. So, as decades of recordings and videos prove, that doesn't just happen overnight. And as easy as it looks, it's far from easy to make happen. Chaos and confusion, louder, higher and faster are easy. Simple, direct and subtle can be and usually is far more difficult to achieve. As one wise arranging teacher once told me, go ahead, write all you want. Get the chart done right to the last final barline. Then take a good look at it and erase about half of what you wrote. What's leftover will be the real music. Once that's done the hard part begins - getting it played by musicians who are sympathetic to what your intentions are as its composer / arranger.
just curious man, where'd you get to see them? I mean HJ was a truly extraordinary musician. Gotta tell ya, I envy you having seen them live! Holy Smokes!
I cannot watch this enough, it's timeless and it's a treasure. What a joy to see the musicians jam. Receding hairlines and thick glasses on make this more poignant. Some things just do NOT get old. :)
I miss good tight arrangements you don't hear much any more. Listening to it LIVE was the the THING of the era in those days those guys had CHOPS they made it look so easy...miss them. Hen
Booker T & his friends knocked out such a perfect classic that afternoon in Memphis. Skilled musicians like these can take it a seemingly infinite number of places. James takes it on with his trumpet with such confidence
GOOD STUFF.. this is really music.......no profanity, no violence..no perversions makes you feel giddy and happy....thanks I am only 30 and tired of this music industry pushing our youth into all sort of negative actions and horrible feelings of grandiosity, not to mention no morals!
Boy, I remember my mom always talking about Harry James. She knew him from the 40's. Pretty hip cat to have recognized this as a classic and to have come up with a killer arrangement for it. Most "serious" musicians would probably have looked down on a "pop" song such as this. Way to go, Harry.
@gsmonks Actually it's a Wurlitzer, not a Fender Rhodes. A 100 series to be precise, as used by Ray Charles on "What'd I Say", Joe Zawinul on ""Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and The Chantays on "Pipeline".
@Agachisanilles your grandpa was what we now call a monster player.. ie; someone who has mastered the instrument... and indeed he did.... what a great band... what a legacy for you...
The power, the swing of this performance is proof positive that James NEVER left jazz behind. He enjoyed commercial success with some sweet numbers, but the man and his band could swing like very few could. A master performer at his peak.
We thought we were hot stuff back then, with our pompadours, peg pants, Mr B collars and such. We didn't realize we were witnessing the greatest music ever, gone but never forgotten
@snuffyny Amen! I'm a chef and I use green onions every day! And, this song starts up in my head EVERY time I cut them up! Great version of Booker T.'s! Buddy Rich was the original stuff for sure. This is classic jazz with a touch of R&B.
Very interesting. Except for that weird part under the clarinet solo, they are playing the Henry Mancini arrangement of this tune that was on his Uniquely Mancini album.
Wow! Yet another You tube surprise...that was awesome,,,,,,,, I love the MGs version but that was something else. Show that to kids these days and they just wouldn't get it!
I started to love Harry James in 1976 when I was 15. I had and still have great taste.... you can imagine what hell it is for me in 2017 musically....... If you wanna hear a great solo by HJ try and find the track "I've Had My Moments" - fab key changes.. good luck as it's rare.
The clarinet player is my friend's father. Though the entire band is dope, the clarinet player is exquisite! Those lungs are unbelievable. To go that long without taking a breath and making elegant music from the challenge. I cant hold my breath that long in silence. Kevy
@Agachisanilles That is one of the best solos I've ever heard on the clarinet; starting off low and mysterious in the chalumeau range, working upwards until he's wailing away in the third register. Absolutely outstanding; it's what's kept me coming back to this great performance over and over again.
When I was a lad in the Fifties, all that was left of my father's enthusiasm for Harry James was a trumpet mouthpiece in his dresser drawer among the cuff-links and old coins. A few decades later, I recognise this number as a classic kbd instrumental I missed as a young guitar obsessive.. A few more decades later I find this. I am connected back through time to find out what it was my father liked.
So, Booker was in high school & Steve Cropper was fresh out, and they were getting to play with Al Jackson, who had been drumming on stage since he was a child with his father’s Jazz/Swing band. Then imagine them hearing this! Must be kinda like The Beatles hearing The MGs cover them! We gotta be doing something right! Mutual admiration club.
Wow, excellent music , back in a day when a trumpet player could actually make a living on the single yob of playing gigs with an orchestra... Hairy James, tremendous expression on that horn...
Thanks brother for answering me back, I agree with you. I also think it was a fun time in the time era, not to mention people really had fun, they dance. Mind you now I was about 10 or so when this happen live, look at Buddy Rich, so cool. Peace be with you. HenQ Fruita, CO.
This is almost 50 years old and it is still REAL MUSIC !! ,not like that rap crap yins listen to now. I bet snoopdog and p-ditty can't play a horn that good.
Fantastic! A great Big Band take on the The Booker T and the MGs classic. 'Ol Harry James still has the chops at this relativley late date in his career. some pretty wild improv work by the horn and woodwinds sections. Almost makes it kind of sound in the style of Sing, Sing Sing, the Benny Goodman classic. And check out all those "squares" dancing, showing all the kids, hey we can be hip too!
This is totally amazing, and would you believe I have danced to Harry James and Gene Crupa plus Buddy Rich - I guess that dates me, never heard this one.
Clarinetist Reverent from San Bernardino Church Robert Achilles plays Clarinet and Sax for Harry James Orchestra passed away 2008 at 70 in Heaven among Harry James and others ...
Booker T's version was the original; 1962. This version is a big-band cover from 1965. I love the combination of the acoustic bass and the Wurlitzer electric piano - very Joe Zawinul/CannonballAdderley sound.
One of the BEST video's I've seen in a long time, I keep coming back to it. UA-cam can be so fantastic sometimes Thank you very much peejay1975 for posting it!
![Booker T & the MG's - Green Onions [12 Minute Loop]](/img/n.gif)
Mr. James and company are flat out WAILING on this! What a shame we live in such a graceless age today- no one knows how to dance anymore....GREAT Vid!
If we had more bands like this today, man the world would be a better place! But thank goodness for youtube to see what bands of the past played like.
sadly all too true however i must add that i have not forgotten how to play this way ( drums) the really sad and horrible part is it seems im just lost on this gen of people its as if real motion isnt either heard respected or wanted anymore..so i left the scene what else could i do? beat my head against the wall? i so understand your feelings on this
My gawd is this some music. if this this does not make your legs start bouncing then nothing will. Harry James is Not forgotten. Love the Clarinet Solo!!
This is my uncle on trombone Joe Cadena 2nd from left
I knew Joe! That is my dad, Red Kelly, on bass. I got to hang with the band all the time.
@@eightbars1 Red is awesome !!
@@sushirollusa Thanks. So was Joe. He was a good friend to me even though I was in third grade!
I can listen to this over and over...just amazing!!! Harry was such a talent...missed greatly...
This was an era of real music.
My grandfather told me about this song. (the clarinet player)
The way it worked was at the end of the song, the trumpets would play that line from "It ain't Necessarily So" and then they would all compete for the highest note. Harry would let them have it for a while and he would try and hit way above everybody else and blow them away. Unfortunately, Harry didn't in this video.
Was your Dad the clarinet player? I was wondering what was his name,he’s great!
@@rockitflash He's actually my grandfather! I was named after him but he usually went by Bob. Bob Achilles www.discogs.com/artist/1790563-Bob-Achilles
I’m thankful for your grandfather’s ministry.
@@Agachisanilles Brilliant! You must be so proud of your grandfather. I think he's the best clarinet player and thoroughly deserved a seat with Harry James. What an honour!
Im playing the clarinet and I learnt this piece, the best piece if ever played by far its so fun and exhilarating
My music teacher is the clarinet players son(the one who played the solo). He showed us this video. Amazing what he could do
Harry James getting NASTY! Love it! He was a childhood hero - he could play so fast, so high. He could do it all, and all class. What swagger here!
The clarinet solo knocked it out of the park.
Amazing take on a classic. Thanks for sharing.
That Harry James could swing like this so late in his career is a testament to what a truly great musician he was. Harry may have been the king of the high c's on the trumpet. Only one other trumpeter that probably had the range he had on that instrument and that's probably Louis Armstrong.
Unbelievable...My favorite band, and with Buddy on drums...forgetaboutit ! Thanks for posting, it is appreciated
My Dad was in the RCAF during WW2 and I grew up listening to this music, but this is the first time I seen or heard this cut. friggin awsome!!!!!!! I love this music
I got to see Harry's band about 5 times back in the mid 70s and the last time in 1981 when I was in high school and college, and I was learning my way around my own horns, before he (HJ) really got sick. Needless to say it was special, and I'm not exaggerating.
People talk about bands like this and how nice it would be if they would come back. They won't. And the reason why is probably not what most people would think.
The musicians exist to do it. There is no shortage of top flight players who could cut it.
But being able to read and cut some charts isn't a band. A band only becomes a "band" when there is enough of a demand for it to exist, which means playing out in front of audiences 5-6-7 nights a week for weeks and months on end... enough time for guys to totally get to know each other and get used to how all 16-18 of them play, and feel a piece of music the same way, and then be able to do it with about 200 arrangements in the books, that are unique to, and were specifically written for the band playing them. They aren't playing published, commercially available jazz band arrangements that are played (and usually butchered to some extent) by just about every other band.
What you are witnessing in this video isn't just just a bunch of guys who got together and found a way to relax their way through a (fairly simple) blues.
What you are watching is a true legacy band and its leader, who had by this point been leading a band CONTINUOUSLY for 25 years that had firmly established "its own thing". And as the years came and went, different guys came in and others left and they were replaced. But in the process of all that time and experience and evolution, the band also built of a book of a couple thousand charts, most of which had also come and gone. Along the way an identity came into being, that was all its own.
So, as decades of recordings and videos prove, that doesn't just happen overnight. And as easy as it looks, it's far from easy to make happen. Chaos and confusion, louder, higher and faster are easy. Simple, direct and subtle can be and usually is far more difficult to achieve.
As one wise arranging teacher once told me, go ahead, write all you want. Get the chart done right to the last final barline. Then take a good look at it and erase about half of what you wrote. What's leftover will be the real music. Once that's done the hard part begins - getting it played by musicians who are sympathetic to what your intentions are as its composer / arranger.
Thanks!
OUTSTANDING post---these guys didn't just hook up one night and start jamming--it took YEARS of playing together to be able to sound this great!!
just curious man, where'd you get to see them? I mean HJ was a truly extraordinary musician. Gotta tell ya, I envy you having seen them live! Holy Smokes!
Amen
Thanks for taking the time to write this. As a non musician, it makes perfect sense and makes me appreciate the great bands of the past all the more.
I cannot watch this enough, it's timeless and it's a treasure. What a joy to see the musicians jam. Receding hairlines and thick glasses on make this more poignant. Some things just do NOT get old. :)
Oh my goodness...if people can’t swing with this kinda music then part of their brain hasn’t been freely opened up....love Harry James music💓
I miss good tight arrangements you don't hear much any more. Listening to it LIVE was the the THING of the era in those days those guys had CHOPS they made it look so easy...miss them.
Hen
Booker T & his friends knocked out such a perfect classic that afternoon in Memphis. Skilled musicians like these can take it a seemingly infinite number of places. James takes it on with his trumpet with such confidence
I've never heard this side of Harry's playing before... wonderful.
Gotta love the James Bond lick at the end. The end of an era. No one will dance like that to this kind of music again, especially in suits and ties.
I like the way Buddy Rich twirls his left drumstick at the very, very end as if to say the whole thing was down to him and it wasy EASY!
Bring back these bands please.
ron fisher The Duke. Chick Webb Benny Goodman Artie Shaw Count Basie. That was some era, boy
Hell of a clarinet solo!
Wow! Very surprising - I didn't know Green Onions could be done in this fashion. Well done! THIS is how a band jams!
GOOD STUFF.. this is really music.......no profanity, no violence..no perversions
makes you feel giddy and happy....thanks
I am only 30 and tired of this music industry pushing our youth into all sort of negative actions and horrible feelings of grandiosity, not to mention no morals!
Boy, I remember my mom always talking about Harry James. She knew him from the 40's. Pretty hip cat to have recognized this as a classic and to have come up with a killer arrangement for it. Most "serious" musicians would probably have looked down on a "pop" song such as this. Way to go, Harry.
Awesome indeed! Provides me with a new found appreciation for Harry James and band.
Fantastic rendering of Green Onions by a Big Band. I never knew it existed. ! Tony
Harry James embodies that Big Bang trumpet sound!
These dudes had it going on, back in '65, when I was 9 years old.
This is way cooler than I would have thought humanly possible. Who knew Harry James would be able to pull this off so well?
@gsmonks Actually it's a Wurlitzer, not a Fender Rhodes. A 100 series to be precise, as used by Ray Charles on "What'd I Say", Joe Zawinul on ""Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" and The Chantays on "Pipeline".
WOW--these cats are really laying a groove--awesome swing arrangement of a classic tune--it might even outdo the original if that's possible!!
Why you lie about it being better
bluesboy macman No lie dude--I think it's better, if you don't like it, tough shit!!
@Agachisanilles your grandpa was what we now call a monster player.. ie; someone who has mastered the instrument... and indeed he did.... what a great band... what a legacy for you...
The quality of this playing is utterly brilliant. Always thought jazz musicians were the best musicians.
The power, the swing of this performance is proof positive that James NEVER left jazz behind. He enjoyed commercial success with some sweet numbers, but the man and his band could swing like very few could. A master performer at his peak.
fantastic solo clarinet
cool kats ! 😎 swing on !
We thought we were hot stuff back then, with our pompadours, peg pants, Mr B collars and such. We didn't realize we were witnessing the greatest music ever, gone but never forgotten
Harry James!!! THE BEST!!!!!!!!!
@snuffyny
Amen!
I'm a chef and I use green onions every day! And, this song starts up in my head EVERY time I cut them up!
Great version of Booker T.'s!
Buddy Rich was the original stuff for sure.
This is classic jazz with a touch of R&B.
Very interesting. Except for that weird part under the clarinet solo, they are playing the Henry Mancini arrangement of this tune that was on his Uniquely Mancini album.
Wow! Yet another You tube surprise...that was awesome,,,,,,,, I love the MGs version but that was something else.
Show that to kids these days and they just wouldn't get it!
I love the ending when Buddy goes into 3/4 time. That was awesome.
the muting of the trumpet is out of this world
Grande classe Harry, merci beaucoup, thanks a lot
I have been loving this song 24/7 from both booker t's and this band
I started to love Harry James in 1976 when I was 15. I had and still have great taste.... you can imagine what hell it is for me in 2017 musically....... If you wanna hear a great solo by HJ try and find the track "I've Had My Moments" - fab key changes.. good luck as it's rare.
The clarinet player is my friend's father. Though the entire band is dope, the clarinet player is exquisite! Those lungs are unbelievable. To go that long without taking a breath and making elegant music from the challenge. I cant hold my breath that long in silence. Kevy
If you can't get goosebumps to this stuff, you ain't alive
It is a marvel!!!. A million stars for this video!!
Martin
BRAVO!! Harry, Buddy & The Band.
@Agachisanilles
That is one of the best solos I've ever heard on the clarinet; starting off low and mysterious in the chalumeau range, working upwards until he's wailing away in the third register. Absolutely outstanding; it's what's kept me coming back to this great performance over and over again.
Yes, How did I miss them.
Wow - an early Wurlitzer electric piano. Priceless!
Now this is the straight dope!
WOWPOW!!!!!!
RARE GEM!
THANK YOU!
And nobody brings it to a feverish climax like the best big band jazz drummer who ever lived.
As good as it gets. Best ever.
When I was a lad in the Fifties, all that was left of my father's enthusiasm for Harry James was a trumpet mouthpiece in his dresser drawer among the cuff-links and old coins.
A few decades later, I recognise this number as a classic kbd instrumental I missed as a young guitar obsessive..
A few more decades later I find this. I am connected back through time to find out what it was my father liked.
So, Booker was in high school & Steve Cropper was fresh out, and they were getting to play with Al Jackson, who had been drumming on stage since he was a child with his father’s Jazz/Swing band. Then imagine them hearing this! Must be kinda like The Beatles hearing The MGs cover them! We gotta be doing something right! Mutual admiration club.
GREAT MUSIC..... !!! thanks for posting.
Wow, excellent music , back in a day when a trumpet player could actually make a living on the single yob of playing gigs with an orchestra... Hairy James, tremendous expression on that horn...
@Ty10Man This is an excellent display of musical mastership from a variety of top-players.
Harry James …. My forever love.
AWESOME.....Thanks for posting.
FANTASTIC!!!!!!!
"Superbly brilliant, what an excellent performance".
Grooooovy baby...
This song is somewhere in the vicinity of jazz…
Great version of a great blues song that grooves along with no discernible melody to get in their way.
This is awesome - never heard it played this way before. Thank you so much for posting...
Thanks brother for answering me back, I agree with you. I also think it was a fun time in the time era, not to mention people really had fun, they dance. Mind you now I was about 10 or so when this happen live, look at Buddy Rich, so cool. Peace be with you.
HenQ
Fruita, CO.
Great !!!!!!!
Have just discovered how good this band really were.
This is totally amazing, and would you believe I have danced to Harry James and Gene Crupa, never heard this one.
loved Harry since I was 14.....
This is almost 50 years old and it is still REAL MUSIC !! ,not like that rap crap yins listen to now. I bet snoopdog and p-ditty can't play a horn that good.
Loving Harry James
Fantastic! A great Big Band take on the The Booker T and the MGs classic. 'Ol Harry James still has the chops at this relativley late date in his career. some pretty wild improv work by the horn and woodwinds sections. Almost makes it kind of sound in the style of Sing, Sing Sing, the Benny Goodman classic. And check out all those "squares" dancing, showing all the kids, hey we can be hip too!
A true showman. :-)
This is totally amazing, and would you believe I have danced to Harry James and Gene Crupa plus Buddy Rich - I guess that dates me, never heard this one.
Clarinetist Reverent from San Bernardino Church Robert Achilles plays Clarinet and Sax for Harry James Orchestra passed away 2008 at 70 in Heaven among Harry James and others ...
Yes, Bravo, thanks! Excellent viddy!
Was fur temperamentvoller Musikstick. Fantastische Musik.
Are you nuts? You don't think Duck and Steve would love this version? It swings like hell
Nice shuffle!!
GREAT band, but Buddy OMG what a groove he laid down on this.
one hell of a recording by james
Booker T's version was the original; 1962. This version is a big-band cover from 1965. I love the combination of the acoustic bass and the Wurlitzer electric piano - very Joe Zawinul/CannonballAdderley sound.
Sheer big band class. And, as a fan of the Booker T & The M.G's, i can state that this is definately as good in my opinion.
guy on the trumpet is the king of this video ;-D
very good the version green Onions
Great post! Thank you!
Harry is amazing!!!!!
One of the BEST video's I've seen in a long time, I keep coming back to it.
UA-cam can be so fantastic sometimes
Thank you very much peejay1975 for posting it!
GREAT STUFF!!!! Thank you for posting
thanks for posting this
Wow i remember renying a video years ago with this on it. Always wished i had a copy.
Smooth....
Masters...I love it.
This version of GREEN ONIONS is even better than Count Basie's big band arrangement of the same song.
GREAT ..THANKS !
This is Perfect!