Booker T. & the M.G.'s to give each other three months to finish up all of their individual projects. They would then devote three years to what would be renamed "Booker T. Jones & the Memphis Group". Nine days later (October 1), Al Jackson, the man Cropper would remember as "the greatest drummer to ever walk the earth", was murdered in his home. The remaining three members and drummer Willie Hall (a session musician who had played on many Stax hits, such as Isaac Hayes's "Theme from "Shaft"") regrouped under their old name, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, and recorded the album "Universal Language" for
MG Maglificio (cycling team) front of former teammates Sorensen and Sciandri, who had left MG-Technogym earlier in 1996. In 1997, MG signed then 22-year-old Paolo Bettini and Matteo Tosatto, who made their professional debuts. Gilberto Simoni and Mauro-Antonio Santaromita were other new riders at the team in what would be its last under the MG-Technogym name. In this final success year, Bartoli won Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Coupe du Monde and Alessandro Bertolini won Paris-Brussel. MG Maglificio remained a sponsor in cycling for one more year, co-financing the Riso Scotti team of Alberto Volpi, with only a few riders from the old MG Maglificio team