Al Green

Albert Leornes Greene was born on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas, the sixth of ten children born to Cora Lee and sharecropper Robert G. Greene Jr. Around the age of ten, he began performing with siblings in a group called the Greene Brothers. During the late 1950s, the family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Green later formed a high school vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two of its members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, established an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. After renaming the group Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded "Back Up Train" in 1966, which reached No. 46 on the Cashbox Top 100. Their subsequent releases and debut album of the same name failed to chart. It was during this period that Green first encountered Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 for a Texas performance and afterward invited him to sign with Hi Records.

Before releasing his first Hi Records album, Green dropped the final "e" from his surname. Mitchell, having observed that Green had been modeling his vocal style on Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown, served as his vocal mentor and guided him toward developing his own voice. Green Is Blues followed in 1969 to moderate success. His 1971 album Al Green Gets Next to You featured a slow, blues-oriented cover of the Temptations' "I Can't Get Next to You" and introduced the million-selling single "Tired of Being Alone," the first of eight gold singles he would release between 1971 and 1974. The 1972 album Let's Stay Together produced his biggest hit to that point, with the title track reaching number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts and the album earning gold certification. His follow-up, I'm Still in Love with You, went platinum on the strength of "Look What You Done for Me" and the title track, both top-10 Hot 100 entries. The 1973 album Call Me generated three additional top-10 singles: "You Ought to Be with Me," "Call Me (Come Back Home)," and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)." Green also charted with "Love and Happiness," a cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," "Simply Beautiful," and "Take Me to the River," the last of which was later covered by Talking Heads and Syl Johnson. Livin' for You, released in December 1973, was certified gold, and Green continued releasing successful R&B material through the mid-1970s with tracks including "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)," "Let's Get Married," "L-O-V-E (Love)," and "Full of Fire."

By the time The Belle Album appeared in 1977, Green's commercial momentum had slowed, in part due to personal difficulties and a growing commitment to ministry. His final Hi Records album, Truth n' Time, was released in 1978 and did not reach the top 40. In 1979, an onstage fall during a Cincinnati performance deepened his religious conviction, and he shifted his focus toward pastoring his church and recording gospel music. From 1981 to 1989, he released a series of gospel albums, beginning with The Lord Will Make a Way in 1980 on the Christian label Myrrh Records. The title track from that album earned him his first Grammy Award in the Best Soul Gospel Performance category, the first of eight he would receive in that field. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell for He Is the Light on A&M Records, and his 1987 album Soul Survivor included "Everything's Gonna Be Alright," which reached No. 22 on the Billboard R&B chart.

Green's Broadway career ran from 1976 to 1982. His credits include Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, in which he co-starred with Patti LaBelle in 1982, and Al Green / Ashford & Simpson. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical in 1983.

Green returned to secular recording in 1988 with "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," a duet with Annie Lennox featured on the Scrooged soundtrack that became his first top-10 pop hit since 1974. He followed that with the 1989 hit "The Message is Love," produced by Arthur Baker, and later signed with RCA, releasing Don't Look Back in 1993 with Baker again producing. A Grammy-winning duet with Lyle Lovett on "Funny How Time Slips Away" added to his tally of awards. In 1995, around the time of his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he released Your Heart's In Good Hands. He reunited with Willie Mitchell in 2003 for I Can't Stop, and in 2000 published his autobiography, Take Me to the River. In 2002, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and recorded the R&B duet "Put It On Paper" with Ann Nesby.

Green has received 11 Grammy Awards in total, along with the BMI Icon Award and the Kennedy Center Honors. Rolling Stone ranked him No. 65 on its 2008 list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and No. 10 on its 2023 list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. His long creative partnership with producer and arranger Willie Mitchell and the Hi Rhythm Section remains central to his legacy as a Memphis soul artist.