b. Albert Greene, 13 April 1946, Forrest City, Arkansas, USA. Having served his musical apprenticeship in the Greene Brothers, a fraternal gospel quartet, this urbane singer made his first recordings in 1960. Four years later he helped form the Creations with Curtis Rogers and Palmer Jones. These two companions subsequently wrote and produced ‘Back Up Train’, a simple, effective ballad and a 1967 R&B hit for his new group, Al Greene And The Soul Mates. Similar releases fared less well, prompting Greene’s decision to work solo (as Al Green).
In 1969, Green shared a bill with band leader Willie Mitchell, who took the singer to Hi Records. The combination of a crack house band, Mitchell’s tight production and Green’s silky, sensuous voice, resulted in some of soul’s definitive moments. The combination took a little time to gel, but with the release of ‘I Can’t Get Next To You’ (1970), they were clearly on course. Previously a hit for the Temptations, this slower, blues-like interpretation established an early pattern. However, the success of ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ (1971), a Green original, introduced a smoother perspective. A US number 11 and a UK number 4, it was followed by ‘Let’s Stay Together’ (1971), ‘I’m Still In Love With You’ (1972), ‘Call Me (Come Back Home)’, ‘Here I Am (Come And Take Me)’ (both 1973), each of which increased Green’s stature as a major artist.
The singer’s personal life, however, was rocked in October 1974. Following an argument, his girlfriend, Mary Woodson, burst in while the singer was taking a bath and poured boiling grits over his back. She then shot herself dead. Although he occasionally recorded gospel material, a scarred and shaken Green vowed to devote more time to God. His singles, meanwhile, remained popular, ‘L-O-V-E (Love)’ and ‘Full Of Fire’ were both R&B chart toppers in 1975, but his work grew increasingly predictable and lacked the passion of his earlier records. The solution was drastic. The partnership with Mitchell was dissolved and Green opened his own recording studio, American Music. The first single was the majestic ‘Belle’ (a US R&B Top 10 hit), although the accompanying album was a departure from his commercial formula and something of a ‘critics favourite’, as were the later Hi collections.
The failure of further singles suggested that the problem was more than simply a tired working relationship. In 1979 Green fell from a Cincinnati stage, which he took as a further religious sign. The Lord Will Make A Way was the first of several gospel-only recordings, which included a 1985 reunion with Mitchell for He Is The Light. Green continued to record sacred material throughout the rest of the decade. His album, Precious Lord, won a Grammy for Best Gospel Album in 1982. A practising minister, he nonetheless reached the UK singles chart in 1989 with the distinctly secular ‘Put A Little Love In Your Heart’. Don’t Look Back, released in 1993, was a sparkling return to recording new R&B/soul material, and some critics rated it as high as albums such as Let’s Stay Together. The US release was delayed for over two years, until Your Heart’s In Good Hands was issued, containing eight tracks from Don’t Look Back.
In the ensuing period, Green was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Green’s first album of the new millennium, the 2003 secular recording I Can’t Stop, saw him teaming up with Mitchell and many of the original Hi session musicians for the first time in years. The album was released on the famous jazz label Blue Note Records. The duo kept their revived partnership going on another fine collection for Blue Note, Everything’s OK (2005).
Green’s 70s albums, Gets Next To You, Let’s Stay Together, I’m Still In Love With You, Call Me and Explores Your Mind, are particularly recommended. Greatest Hits and Take Me To The River (Greatest Hits Volume 2) offer the simplest overview, with the former being reissued on CD in an expanded form with 15 tracks. Truth ‘N’ Time (1978) best represents the post-Mitchell, pre-gospel recordings.
