Melting Pot

Melting Pot was the last album to feature the classic line-up of Jones, Cropper, Dunn and Jackson, and the first of their albums built on longer, jam-oriented pieces. Jones had moved to California, unhappy with the changes under the label's new chairman Al Bell, and he refused to record in Memphis. The album was recorded in New York City between M.G.'s gigs, partly at the Record Plant.

The title track was edited down and issued as a single in the spring of 1971, reaching number 45 on the Hot 100 and number 21 on the R&B chart. Rolling Stone's review of the album called it "the best Booker T. album in some time". The record has been sampled since, for instance by Big Daddy Kane on Another Victory.