Booker T. & the MG's were the house band for Stax Records, but they released some albums under their name. They recorded this in the mid-'60s and reworked it in the late '60s as the theme for the film Up Tight. The group recorded two versions of the song - the shorter (3:14), slower version was released as a single in 1969, and became one of the biggest hits of the group's career, peaking at #7 R&B and #6 Pop. The longer (4:55) version (which was included on the official soundtrack album) is played at a faster tempo than the single version, and features an extended introduction and an instrumental 'breakdown' section, neither of which were included in the single version. This song is similar to Booker T. & the MG's hit "Green Onions," but there is one big difference: Booker T. Jones played a Hammond M-3 organ on that one; on "Time Is Tight," he played a B-3.
This song is driven by the Hammond B-3 organ played by Booker T. Jones. He played guitar, saxophone and a variety of other instruments when he joined Stax, but the organ is where he made his mark. "The first time I saw a Hammond organ I just got a feeling inside about it and I was comfortable," he said in a interview. "I'm more comfortable at that than any other instrument."
After the demise of Booker T. & the MG's, band members Steve Cropper and Donald Dunn joined The Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), who used this in the introduction to their live show.
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