Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor, and record producer. He is best known for recording a series of soul hit 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 his signature song, "Let's Stay Together" (1972). Green became an ordained pastor and recorded gospel music during the 1980s.
Green was inducted into the Rock 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." He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers." Green is the winner of 11 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the BMI Icon award and is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. He was included in Rolling Stone's 2008 list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time," ranking at No. 65, as well as its 2023 list of the "200 Greatest Singers of All Time," at No. 10.
Green is a canonical Memphis soul artist. He collaborated closely with many of Memphis's most notable R&B musicians; a long and prolific partnership with producer/arranger Willie Mitchell and the Hi Rhythm Section yielded Green's greatest commercial success.
Early life
Albert Leornes Greene was born on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas, as the sixth of ten children to Cora Lee and sharecropper Robert G. Greene Jr. When he was about ten years old, Al began performing with his sister in a group called the Greene Brothers. During the late 1950s, the Greene family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
While still a teenager, Al was asked to leave the family home after his very religious father discovered him listening to Jackie Wilson.
In high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two members of the group, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, started an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. In 1966, after changing their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded the song "Back Up Train," which was released on Hot Line Music. The song became popular on the R&B charts and reached No. 46 on the Cashbox Top 100. However, the group’s later songs and their first album, Back Up Train (1967), did not become popular on the charts. While performing with the Soul Mates, Green met Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who hired him in 1969 to sing with Mitchell’s band for a Texas show. After the performance, Mitchell asked Green to sign with his Hi Records label.
Career
Al Green began his music career by trying to sing like famous artists such as Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown. His vocal coach, Mitchell, helped him discover his own unique singing style. Before releasing his first album with Hi Records, Green changed his name by removing the final "e." His first album, Green Is Blues (1969), had moderate success. His next album, Al Green Gets Next to You (1971), included a slow blues version of the Temptations' song "I Can't Get Next to You." The album also featured his first major hit, "Tired of Being Alone," which sold a million copies and was certified gold. This was the first of eight gold singles Green released between 1971 and 1974.
Green's album Let's Stay Together (January 1972) helped him become a major figure in soul music. The title track reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts. The album became certified gold. His next album, I'm Still in Love with You (October 1972), was certified platinum, thanks to hits like "Look What You Done for Me" and the title track, both of which reached the top 10 on the Hot 100. His 1973 album Call Me produced three top-10 singles: "You Ought to Be with Me," "Call Me (Come Back Home)," and "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)." Other popular songs from this time included "Love and Happiness," a cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart," "Simply Beautiful," and "Take Me to the River," which was later covered by Talking Heads and Syl Johnson.
Green's 1973 album Livin' for You was certified gold. He continued to release successful R&B hits, including "Livin' for You," "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)" from Al Green Explores Your Mind, "Let's Get Married," "L-O-V-E (Love)," and "Full of Fire."
By 1977, Green's record sales had dropped, partly because of personal challenges and his decision to become a minister. His final Hi Records album, Truth n' Time (1978), did not chart in the top 40.
Green continued to record R&B music but saw declining sales and mixed reviews. In 1979, he injured himself during a performance in Cincinnati and interpreted it as a message from God. He then focused on pastoring his church and gospel music.
From 1981 to 1989, Green released several gospel albums. His first gospel album, The Lord Will Make a Way (1980), was his first of six albums on Myrrh Records. The title track won Green his first of eight Grammy Awards in the Best Soul Gospel Performance category. In 1982, Green appeared in the Broadway play Your Arms Too Short to Box with God with Patti LaBelle. In 1984, a documentary titled Gospel According to Al Green was released, featuring interviews and footage from his church. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell and Angelo Earl for He Is the Light, his first album for A&M Records. His 1987 album Soul Survivor included the minor hit "Everything's Gonna Be Alright," which reached No. 22 on the Billboard R&B chart.
"Let's Stay Together" was later covered by Tina Turner in 1983, serving as her comeback single. Green returned to secular music in 1988 with "Put a Little Love in Your Heart," recorded with Annie Lennox for the Scrooged soundtrack. The song became his first top-10 pop hit since 1974. In 1989, he had a hit with "The Message is Love" produced by Arthur Baker. In 1991, he recorded the theme song for the short-lived show Good Sports. In 1993, he signed with RCA and released the album Don't Look Back with Baker as producer. Green received his ninth Grammy Award for his duet with Lyle Lovett on "Funny How Time Slips Away." His 1995 album Your Heart's in Good Hands was released around the time he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The single "Keep On Pushing Love" was described as "invoking the original, sparse sound of his early classics."
In 2000, Green released his autobiography, Take Me to the River. In 2002, he earned the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and recorded a hit R&B duet with Ann Nesby on "Put It on Paper." In 2003, he reunited with Willie Mitchell for the album I Can't Stop. In 2004, he re-recorded "Simply Beautiful" with Queen Latifah for her album The Dana Owens Album. In 2005, he and Mitchell collaborated on Everything's OK.
Green's 2008 album Lay It Down, produced by Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and James Poyser, became his first album to reach the top 10 since the early 1970s. It included the R&B ballad "Stay with Me (By the Sea)" featuring John Legend, as well as duets with Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae. During an interview, Green said he wished he had duetted with Marvin Gaye.
In 2009, Green recorded "People Get Ready" with Heather Headley for the album Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration. In 2010, he performed "Let's Stay Together" on Later… with Jools Holland. In 2018, he released "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," most famously recorded by Freddy Fender in 1975. The song was part of Amazon Music's "Produced By" series. In 2026, Green appeared on "Goodbye Henry" with Raye on her album This Music May Contain Hope.
Personal life
On October 18, 1974, Green’s girlfriend, Mary Woodson, attacked him and then died by suicide at his home in Memphis. Woodson was already married with three children, but Green did not know this. She became upset when Green refused to marry her. While Green was preparing for bed in the bathroom, Woodson threw a pot of boiling grits at him, causing second-degree burns on his back, stomach, and arms. These injuries required skin grafts. Soon after, Woodson fatally shot herself with Green’s .38 handgun. Police found a suicide note in her purse that explained her reasons for her actions. A few days earlier, Green had sent Woodson to stay with a friend after she took sleeping pills and cut her wrists. Green said this event made him realize he needed to change his life.
After Green was released from Baptist Memorial Hospital Memphis, where he received treatment for his burns, he was reportedly held hostage at gunpoint by his cousin, who claimed he owed her money. Green did not press charges.
In 1976, Green founded the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis. He currently lives in Millington and preaches near Memphis. He is a member of the Prince Hall Masons, the African-American branch of Freemasonry, at the Thirty-Third Degree.
In September 2013, Green’s sister, Maxine Green, was reported missing from her assisted living home in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her daughter, Lasha, said Green has not contacted the family about his sister. As of March 2023, Maxine is still missing.
On June 15, 1977, Green married his first wife, Shirley Green (née Kyles), in Memphis. Shirley was originally from Chicago and worked as one of Green’s backing vocalists and an employee at his church. Together, they had three daughters. Shirley first filed for divorce in 1978, citing cruelty and irreconcilable differences. She filed again in 1981, claiming Green had subjected her to domestic violence during their marriage. Green filed a counterclaim, accusing Shirley of cruel treatment. In a sworn deposition in 1982, Shirley testified that in 1978, while she was five months pregnant, Green struck her with a boot after she refused to have sex. This caused head wounds, one of which required stitches. After the incident, Shirley filed for divorce, but the couple later reconciled. Shirley said they separated multiple times due to the frequency and severity of the beatings. Initially, Green denied hitting Shirley, but in 1982, he admitted under oath that he had struck her. Their divorce was finalized in February 1983. Green agreed to pay Shirley $432,800 in alimony and child support. In 1995, Shirley spoke publicly about the abuse she endured after learning about the story of Nicole Brown Simpson, in hopes of helping other victims.
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. Alva, Rubi, and Kora were born to Green and Shirley.
Green was reportedly remarried by the 1990s.
In 1974, Green’s former secretary, Linda Wills, filed a $25,000 civil lawsuit against him, claiming he beat her and pushed her through a glass door in his Memphis office after an argument about unpaid wages. The lawsuit was dropped due to conflicting testimony, but in 1975, they settled a $100,000 lawsuit related to assault and battery charges.
In 1977, Green and his former organ player, Larry Robinson, were arrested for assault in Irving, Texas, on Memorial Day. Robinson said Green and his bodyguards attacked him after a dispute over unpaid money from previous performances. Both men posted bail for a misdemeanor charge.
In 1978, Green was charged with assault and battery for allegedly beating a woman unconscious with a tree limb. The charges were dismissed because the woman, who had moved, did not receive a subpoena and missed the court date.
Awards and honors
Green has been nominated for 21 Grammy Awards and has won 11 of them, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Two of his songs, "Let's Stay Together" and "Take Me To the River," have been added to the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Green was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2004, he was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and The Songwriters Hall of Fame. That same year, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 65 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2009 BET Awards on June 24, 2009.
On August 26, 2004, Green was honored as a BMI Icon at the annual BMI Urban Awards. He was added to a list of previous Icon honorees that included R&B legends James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Bo Diddley. Green was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2009. He was recognized as a Kennedy Center Honors recipient on December 7, 2014.
In his most famous song, "Walking In Memphis," singer/songwriter Marc Cohn mentions Green by name. Cohn wrote the song after a trip to Memphis, which included listening to a sermon by Green.