“Green Onions” the smash instrumental hit by Booker T. & The M.G.s was released in July of 1962 and reached a peak chart position of #3. Many still remember the excitement of hearing it on the radio, but for those of you who don’t, or have never heard it, listen here.
Certified gold on June 1, 1967, it’s another example of an early hand-cut white matte, being certified a month later than the Rolling Stones “Ruby Tuesday”.
Notice the thicker edge around the disc and plate, the looser weave of the hand-cut matte, and its slightly beige color. After 1967 die-cut mattes became the usual for the rest of the white matte period, and they were whiter, with tighter weaving, and the exposed edge was thinner.
Jim Stewart was one of those magic music guys … a record producer, who co-founded, and was President of Stax Records.
Though the backing paper looks changed, because it doesn’t have a sticker, or an outline of where one would have been, the wire hanging is original. The clips at the top and pads at the bottom were added to facilitate display.
To review other white mattes check here.
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