Al Green Biography

Name
Al Green

Date of birth
13 April 1946

Place of birth
Forrest City, Arkansas, USA

Birth name
Albert Greene

Nickname
The Bishop of the Full Gospel Tabernacle

Height
5' 10�

Al Green Trivia

* His recording of 'Let's Stay Together' (Hi 2202) was the biggest R&B hit of the 1970's, spending nine weeks at #1 on Billboard. The song also topped Billboard's 'Hot 100' pop charts in 1972.
* While showering in his Memphis home in October 1974, his ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson burst in and poured boiling hot grits over him and then turned a gun on herself. Green was hospitalised with second-degree burns.
* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
* Was nominated for Broadway's 1983 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God."
* In the second half of the 1950s he and his three brothers formed a gospel vocal quartet called the Greene Brothers. Al's father dismissed him from the group in 1960 after catching him listening to what he called the "profane music" of Jackie Wilson.
* During a 1979 concert in Cincinnati, fell off the stage and narrowly escaped serious injury. Considering the incident a warning from God, he has devoted himself to the ministry since.
* He was voted the 65th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.

Al Green Detailed Biography

Soul Legend Al Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas in 1946, and began performing at age nine as part of his father's gospel group, the Green Brothers. During the 1950's, the quartet toured the South, but the Green family later moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Al Green formed a new R&B group, Al Green and the Creations. The Creations became the Soul Mates, and in 1968 the group scored an R&B Top 5 single with Back Up Train.

In 1969, Green began a solo career in close collaboration with producer Willie Mitchell, releasing his debut album Green is Blues the following year. His 1970 follow-up Al Green Gets Next to You went gold thanks to the hit single Tired of Being Along, while 1972's Let's Stay Together reached the Top 10 when its title track hit No. 1. Another 1972 release I'm Still in Love With You reached No. 4, while 1973's Call Me contained three Top 10 singles, Her I Am, Call Me and "Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy). Al Green was now an R&B superstar, known for his soulful voice, interesting musical arrangements and energetic live shows.

After the tragic death of his girlfriend Mary Woodson in 1974, Green found God and became a preacher at the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, where he still preaches to this day. He recorded several gospel albums during the 1970's and early '80's, returning to the mainstream in the late '80's with a cover of Put a Little Love in Your Heart with Annie Lennox, and the top 40 R&B single As Long as We're Together, a duet with Al B. Sure.

By 1995 Green's comeback was assured, with the release of Your Heart's in Good Hands. That same year, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an honor that was well-deserved.

Source: netglimse.com