''Soul Limbo'' is the seventh studio album by the American R&B band Booker T. & the M.G.'s, released in 1968 on

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

. The album was the first

Stax Stax can refer to: * StAX, (Computer Programming) Streaming API for reading and writing XML in Java * Stax Ltd, a Japanese brand of electrostatic headphones * Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, ...

LP issued after the label severed its ties with former distributor

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

in 1968. The title track is perhaps best known in the UK as the theme tune for BBC Television's

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

coverage and also for BBC radio’s '' Test Match Special''. It features a

marimba The marimba ( ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the mari ...

solo by

Terry Manning Terry Don Manning (December 29, 1947 – March 25, 2025) was an American recording engineer, record producer, musician and photographer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ZZ Top, the ...

and cowbell by

Isaac Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes Jr. (August 20, 1942 – August 10, 2008) was an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He was one of the creative forces behind the Southern soul music label Stax Records in the 1960s, serving as an in-house songwr ...

. The song was later covered by the English punk band Snuff. It references the Trinidadian dance and game The Limbo, which had a surge of popularity in the United States starting in the mid-1950s. The song makes use of a common chord progression that was featured in such 1950s and 1960s hits as " La Bamba", "

Louie Louie "Louie Louie" is a rhythm and blues song written and composed by American musician Richard Berry in 1955, recorded in 1956, and released in 1957. It is best known for the 1963 hit version by the Kingsmen and has become a Standard (music), stand ...

", and " Wild Thing". The album also features the group's hit version of the title theme from the film '' Hang 'Em High''.Galloway, A. Scott (1994). ''Rock Instrumental Classics Volume 4: Soul'' (p. 14) D booklet Los Angeles: Rhino Records.

Track listing

;Side one #" Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy" ( J.R. Cobb, Ray Whitley) #" La-La (Means I Love You)" (

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...

, William Hart) #" Hang 'Em High" ( Dominic Frontiere) #" Willow Weep for Me" ( Ann Ronell) #"Over Easy" (Booker T. & the M.G.'s) #"Soul Limbo" (Booker T. & the M.G.'s) Side two #"

Eleanor Rigby "Eleanor Rigby" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1966 album ''Revolver''. It was also issued on a double A-side single, paired with " Yellow Submarine". Credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership, the s ...

" (

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

) #"Heads or Tails" (Booker T. & the M.G.'s) #" (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone" (

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

, Teddy White) #"

Born Under a Bad Sign ''Born Under a Bad Sign'' is the second compilation album by American blues musician Albert King, released in August 1967 by Stax Records. It features eleven electric blues songs that were recorded from March 1966 to June 1967, throughout fiv ...

" ( William Bell, Booker T. Jones) #"

Foxy Lady "Foxy Lady" (or alternatively "Foxey Lady") is a song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album '' Are You Experienced'' and was later issued as their third single in the U.S. with the alternate spelling. It is ...

" (

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

)

Personnel

;Booker T. & the M.G.s * Booker T. Jones -

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

, piano, guitar *

Steve Cropper Steven Lee Cropper (born October 21, 1941), sometimes known as "The Colonel", is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, which backed artists such as ...

- guitar * Donald Dunn - bass guitar * Al Jackson Jr. - drums, percussion with: *

on "Soul Limbo" *

- cowbell on "Soul Limbo"

References

Booker T. & the M.G.'s albums 1968 albums Stax Records albums Albums produced by Al Jackson Jr. Albums produced by Donald "Duck" Dunn Albums produced by Steve Cropper Albums produced by Booker T. Jones Sports television theme songs {{1960s-R&B-album-stub