Al Green
b. Al 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 Green's decision to work solo. In 1969 he shared a bill with bandleader Willie Mitchell, who took the singer to Hi Records. The combination of a crack houseband, Mitchell's tight production and Green's silky, sensuous voice, would result 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. His 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 (1981) was the first of several gospel-only recordings, which included a 1985 reunion with Mitchell for HE IS THE LIGHT. Green has since continued to record sacred material. A practising minister, he nonetheless breached the UK singles’ chart in 1989 with the distinctly secular, Put A Little Love In Your Heart. His Hi albums; AL GREEN GETS NEXT TO YOU, LET'S STAY TOGETHER, I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU and CALL ME are particularly recommended. GREATEST HITS and TAKE ME TO THE RIVER – GREATEST HITS VOLUME TWO offer the simplest overview. TRUTH ‘N’ TIME best represents the post-Mitchell, pre-gospel recordings.