Booker T. Jones The Cool Dude

The Road from Memphis is the ninth studio album by Booker T. Jones, released in May 2011 through the record label ANTI. Booker T. is backed by hip-hop band the Roots. The album reached a peak position of number 85 on the Billboard 200 and received a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album. Mojo placed the album at number 42 on its list of "Top 50 albums of 2011."

Booker T. Jones was one of the architects of the Memphis soul sound of the 1960s as the leader of Booker T. & the MG's, who scored a number of hits on their own as well as serving as the Stax Records house band. But Jones' accomplishments don't stop there, and as a producer, songwriter, arranger, and instrumentalist, he's worked with a remarkable variety of artists, from Willie Nelson and John Lee Hooker to Soul Asylum to the Roots.

In an emotional musical journey, Booker T explores new takes on the songs that make up the fabric of his musical identity. Largely mirroring the chapter titles from his forthcoming memoir Time is Tight, the album titled Note by Note serves as a musical companion. STAX staples like Cause I Love You and These Arms of Mine are woven into defining musical moments from Booker's journey after STAX, when he produced and recorded with artists as diverse as Willie Nelson and Carlos Santana. Booker T & the M.G.'s fans will enjoy a new ending to the song Time is Tight, a Romanesque coda that has been played live yet never recorded. The album culminates with new original music, highlighting the soaring guitar and vocals of Booker's son and collaborator Teddy Jones.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees Booker T. & the MG's originally served as the house band for Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee. They became one of the most important, enduring factors in the label's sound and helped define the sound of Southern soul genre in the 1960s. Their tight, impeccable, funky grooves could be heard on classic hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Albert King, and Sam & Dave among many others.