Jones led Booker T and the Mg's, the house band for Stax records. The group of Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Donald Dunn, and drummer Al Jackson backed such musicians as Isaac Hayes, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Albert King and Wilson Pickett on many popular recordings and during live performances.
The group's own instrumental "Green Onion" charted as a number three Billboard hit in 1963.