Al Green | |
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.jpg) Green in 1996 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | The Reverend Al Green |
| Born | Albert Leornes Greene (1946-04-13)April 13, 1946 (age 79) Forrest City, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Works | Al Green discography |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally asAl Green, is an American singer, songwriter,pastor and record producer. He is best known for recording a series ofsoulhit singles in the early 1970s, including "Tired of Being Alone" (1971), "I'm Still in Love with You" (1972), "Love and Happiness" (1973), "Take Me to the River" (1974), and hissignature song, "Let's Stay Together" (1972).[3] Green became an ordained pastor and recordedgospel music during the 1980s.
Green wasinducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He was referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music".[3] He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers".[4] Green is the winner of 11 Grammy Awards, including theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the BMI Icon award and is aKennedy Center Honors recipient. He was included inRolling Stone's 2008 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", ranking at No. 65,[5] as well as its 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time", at No. 10.[6]
Green is a canonicalMemphis soul artist. He collaborated closely with many of Memphis's most notable R&B musicians; a long and prolific partnership with producer/arrangerWillie Mitchell and theHi Rhythm Section yielded Green's greatest commercial success.
Albert Leornes Greene[7] was born on April 13, 1946, inForrest City, Arkansas,[8] as the sixth of ten children born to Cora Lee andsharecropper Robert G. Greene Jr. At around the age of ten, Al began performing with his sister in a group called the Greene Brothers. During the late 1950s, the Greene family relocated toGrand Rapids, Michigan.[9]
While still a teenager, Al was kicked out of the family home after his devoutly religious father caught him listening toJackie Wilson.[10]
"[I listened to]Mahalia Jackson, all the great gospel singers. But the most important music to me was those hip-shakin' boys:Wilson Pickett andElvis Presley. When I was 13, I just loved Elvis Presley. Whatever he got, I went out and bought."[11]
In high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations.[12] Two of the group's members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, formed an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. In 1966, having changed their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song "Back Up Train", releasing it on Hot Line Music.[13] The song was a hit on theR&B charts and peaked at No. 46 in theCashbox Top 100. However, the group's subsequent follow-ups failed to chart, as did their debut albumBack Up Train (1967). While performing with the Soul Mates, Green came into contact withMemphis record producerWillie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to be a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchell's band. Following the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with hisHi Records label.[13]
Having noted that Green had been trying to sing like Jackie Wilson,Sam Cooke,Wilson Pickett, andJames Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, coaching him into finding his own voice. Before releasing his first album withHi Records, Green removed the final "e" from his name. Subsequently, he releasedGreen Is Blues (1969), which was a moderate success. His follow-up album,Al Green Gets Next to You (1971), featured the hit R&B cover ofthe Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You", recorded in a slowblues-oriented style.[13] The album also featured his first significant hit, "Tired of Being Alone",[13] which sold a million copies and was certified gold, becoming the first of eight gold singles Green would release between 1971 and 1974.[14]
Green's next album,Let's Stay Together (January 1972), solidified his place in soul music.[13] Thetitle track was his biggest hit to date, reaching number one on both theBillboard Hot 100 andR&B charts.[15] The album became his first to be certifiedgold. His follow-up,I'm Still in Love with You (October 1972), went platinum with the help of the singles "Look What You Done for Me" and thetitle track, both of which went to the top 10 on the Hot 100. His next album,Call Me (April 1973), produced three top-10 singles: "You Ought to Be with Me", "Call Me (Come Back Home)", and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)".[15] In addition to these hit singles, Green also had radio hits with songs such as "Love and Happiness", his cover of theBee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", "Simply Beautiful", "What a Wonderful Thing Love Is", and "Take Me to the River" (later covered successfully bynew wave bandTalking Heads and blues artistSyl Johnson).
Green's albumLivin' for You (December 1973) was certified gold.[14] He continued to record successful R&B hits in the next several years, including "Livin' for You", "Sha-La-La (Makes Me Happy)" from his albumAl Green Explores Your Mind, "Let's Get Married", "L-O-V-E (Love)" and "Full of Fire".
By the time Green releasedThe Belle Album in 1977, however, his record sales had plummeted, partially due to Green's own personal issues during this time and his desire to become aminister.[16] His last Hi Records album,Truth n' Time, was released in 1978 and failed to chart top 40.
Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics. In 1979, he injured himself falling off the stage while performing in Cincinnati and took this as a message from God. He then concentrated on pastoring his church andgospel music.[17][7][18]
From 1981 to 1989, Green recorded a series of gospel albums.[17] While still under contract with Hi Records, Green released the 1980 albumThe Lord Will Make a Way, his first of six albums on theChristian labelMyrrh Records.[19] The title song from the album would later win Green his first of eightGrammy Awards in the Best Soul Gospel Performance category.[20] In 1982, Green co-starred withPatti LaBelle in theBroadway play "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God".[21] In 1984, directorRobert Mugge released a documentary film,Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell along withAngelo Earl forHe Is the Light, his first album for A&M Records. His 1987 follow-up,Soul Survivor, featured the minor hit, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright", which reached No. 22 on theBillboard R&B chart, his first top-40 R&B hit since "I Feel Good" in 1978.[15]
"Let's Stay Together" was later covered byTina Turner, her second collaboration with the British Heaven 17 and British Electric Foundation production team after "Ball of Confusion" in 1982, and served as her comeback single in late 1983. Unlike Al Green's version, Turner sings verse 2 first, then verse 1 when the band starts playing. Green returned to secular music in 1988 recording "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" withAnnie Lennox.[13] Featured on the soundtrack to the movieScrooged (1988), the song became Green's first top-10 pop hit since 1974. Green had a hit in 1989 with "The Message is Love" with producerArthur Baker. Two years later, he recorded the theme song to the short-lived showGood Sports.[22] In 1993, he signed withRCA and with Baker again as producer, released the album,Don't Look Back. Green received his ninth Grammy award for his collaboration withLyle Lovett for their duet of "Funny How Time Slips Away". Green's 1995 album,Your Heart's In Good Hands, was released around the time that Green was inducted to theRock and Roll Hall of Fame.[23] The one single released from the album, "Keep On Pushing Love", was described as "invoking the original, sparse sound of his [Green's] early classics".[24]
In 2000, Green released his autobiography,Take Me to the River. Two years later, he earned theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award and recorded a hit R&B duet withAnn Nesby on the song, "Put It On Paper". Green again reunited with Willie Mitchell in 2003 for the album,I Can't Stop.[25] A year later, Green re-recorded his previous song, "Simply Beautiful", withQueen Latifah on the latter's album,The Dana Owens Album. In 2005, Green and Mitchell collaborated onEverything's OK.
Green's 2008 album,Lay It Down, was produced byAhmir "Questlove" Thompson andJames Poyser.[26] It became Green's first album to reach the top 10 since the early 1970s. The album features a minor R&B hit with the ballad, "Stay with Me (By the Sea)", featuringJohn Legend, and also includes duets withAnthony Hamilton andCorinne Bailey Rae.[27] During an interview for promotion of the album, Green admitted that he would have liked to duet withMarvin Gaye: "In those days, people didn't sing together like they do now."[28]
In 2009, Green recorded "People Get Ready" withHeather Headley on the albumOh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration.[29] In 2010, Green performed "Let's Stay Together" onLater... with Jools Holland. On September 13, 2018, Al Green released his first new recording in almost over ten years, "Before the Next Teardrop Falls", most famously recorded by Freddy Fender in 1975. It was produced by Matt Ross-Spang and is part of Amazon Music's new "Produced By" series.[30]
On October 18, 1974, Green's girlfriend, Mary Woodson, assaulted him and then died by suicide at his Memphis home.[31][18] Although unbeknownst to Green she was already married with three children, Woodson became upset when Green refused to marry her.[32] She doused him with a pot of boilinggrits as he was preparing for bed in the bathroom, causingsecond-degree burns on his back, stomach, and arms which requiredskin grafts.[31][25] Shortly after, Woodson fatally shot herself with his.38 handgun.[33] Police found an apparentsuicide note inside Woodson's purse that declared her intentions and her reasons.[34] A few days prior, Green had sent Woodson to convalesce at the home of his friend after she had taken a handful of sleeping pills and slit her wrists.[25] Green cited this incident as a wake-up call to change his life.[18]
Days after Green was released fromBaptist Memorial Hospital Memphis, where he was treated for his burns, he was reportedly held hostage at gunpoint by his cousin, who claimed he owed her money.[35] Green refused to press charges.[36]
In 1976, Green established the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis.[25][37] Green resides in Millington, and preaches nearMemphis.[38] He is a member of thePrince Hall Masons, the African-American wing of Freemasonry, at the Thirty-Third Degree.[39]
In September 2013, Green's sister Maxine Green was reported missing from her assisted living home inGrand Rapids, Michigan. According to her daughter Lasha, Green has not reached out to the family about his sister.[40] As of March 2023, she is still missing.[41]
On June 15, 1977, Green married his first wife Shirley Green (née Kyles) in Memphis. Originally from Chicago, she was one of hisbacking vocalists and an employee at his church.[42] Together they have three daughters.[43] Shirley first filed for divorce in 1978 on the ground of cruelty and irreconcilable differences.[44] She filed again in 1981, charging that Green had subjected her todomestic violence throughout their marriage.[7] Green accused her of cruel and inhuman treatment in a countercomplaint. In a sworndeposition in 1982 as part of her divorce filing, Shirley testified that in 1978 while she was five months pregnant, Green beat her with a boot for refusing to have sex.[7] She claimed that the assault resulted in head wounds, one of which required stitches. After the incident she filed for divorce, but they reconciled.[45] According to Shirley, they separated several times when the beatings became "too frequent and too severe".[7] Initially, Green denied beating his wife, but under oath in 1982 he admitted to striking her. Their divorce was finalized in February 1983.[7] Green agreed to pay her $432,800 inalimony andchild support.[42] In 1995, the story ofNicole Brown Simpson inspired Shirley to go public with the abuse she endured in order to help other victims.[7]
Green has seven children: sons Chris Burse Sr., Al Green Jr., and Trevor and daughters Alva Lei Green, Rubi Renee Green, Kora Kishé Green, and Kala.[43][19] Alva, Rubi, and Kora were born to Green and his ex-wife Shirley.[46]
Green was reportedly remarried by the 1990s.[25]
Green's former secretary, Linda Wills, filed a $25,000 civil suit against him in 1974. Wills alleged that Green beat her and shoved her through a glass door in his Memphis office after a dispute about how much back pay she was entitled to for her duties.[47] The civil suit was dropped because of "conflicting testimony", but in 1975, they settled a $100,000 lawsuit forassault andbattery charges.[36][48]
In 1977, Green and his former organ player Larry Robinson were arrested for assault onMemorial Day inIrving, Texas. According to Robinson, Green and his bodyguards jumped him when he confronted Green about owed money from previous gigs. They both posted bond on amisdemeanor charge.[49]
In 1978, Green was charged with assault and battery for allegedly beating a woman unconscious with a tree limb. The charges were dismissed after the woman, who had moved, did not receive asubpoena and therefore missed the court date.[50]
Green has been nominated for 21Grammy Awards, winning 11, including theGrammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[20] Two of his songs, "Let's Stay Together" and "Take Me To the River" have been inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[51]
Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2004, he was inducted into theGospel Music Association'sGospel Music Hall of Fame. That same year, he was inducted intoThe Songwriters Hall of Fame.[52] Also in 2004,Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 65 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[5] He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009BET Awards on June 24, 2009.[53]
On August 26, 2004, Green was honored as aBMI Icon at the annual BMI Urban Awards. He joined a list of previous Icon honorees that included R&B legendsJames Brown,Chuck Berry,Little Richard andBo Diddley.[54] Green was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009.[55] He was recognized on December 7, 2014, as aKennedy Center Honors recipient.[56]
In his signature songWalking In Memphis, singer/songwriterMarc Cohn mentions Green by name. Cohn's inspiration for the song came from a trip to Memphis, including listening to a sermon by Green.[57]
