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."
McLemore Avenue is a 1970 album by Booker T. & the M.G.s, consisting entirely of mostly instrumental covers of songs from the Beatles' album Abbey Road (released only months earlier, in September 1969). The title and cover are an homage to the Beatles album, 926 East McLemore Avenue being the address of the Stax studio in Memphis, as Abbey Road was for EMI in London.
Booker T. Jones said, "I was in California when I heard Abbey Road, and I thought it was incredibly courageous of The Beatles to drop their format and move out musically like they did. To push the limit like that and reinvent themselves when they had no need to do that. They were the top band in the world but they still reinvented themselves. The music was just incredible so I felt I needed to pay tribute to it."
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.