b. AI Greene, 13th April 1946, Forrest City, Arkansas, U.S.A.
Al Green was born in Forrest City in Arkansas.
He began his singing career at the age of nine in his fathers group, the Green Brothers.
The Green Brothers toured throughout the South in the mid-'50s, before the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Al later left the group and formed a Rock / R & B band called Al Green and the Creations, which then became re-titled Al Green and The Soul Mates.
In 1968 the group scored a local hit with the song 'Back Up Train' for their own Hotline label, which made number 5 on the R & B charts.
Around this time Al came to the attention of the legendary producer Willie Mitchell.
In 1969, Al signed a solo contract with Willie.
In 1970, Al recorded the album 'Green Is Blues' with his new partner.
The following year Al released '(I'm So) Tired Of Being Alone', whose success set the scene for the following 5 years, where Al recorded 9 albums, had seven top ten hits and sold 30 million records!
Disaster struck in 1974, when Al was left with severe burns on his back, stomach and arm after an argument with a former partner, Mary Woodson.
Mary burst in whillst Al was taking a bath and poured boiling grits over his back and then shot herself dead, which left the singer with second degree burns.
This tragic accident led to Al re-assessing his life and he decided to turn to Gospel as a healer.
He joined the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, where he still preaches and sings to the congregation today.
Al recorded two soul / gospel albums entitled 'Belle' in 1977 and 'Truth N'Time in 1978, and, during live performances, he still sang his older, successful, secular material.
Disaster struck yet again in 1979, when Al fell onto a steel instrument case in Cincinnatti, which led to a 15 day stay in hospital.
After this incident, Al stuck strictly to his Gospel singing for a while, feeling that the Lord was punishing him in some way.
His first completely Gospel record arrived in 1980, entitled 'The Lord Will Make A Way' for the Myrrh imprint.
This album won Al a Grammy for the Best Soul Gospel Performer.
By 1985, Al had joined A & M Records, where he worked with Willie Mitchell again on the album 'Going Away'.
The following year saw the release of 'Soul Survivor', which moved Al back into a more soulful / gospel vein again.
He hit the charts the same year with the Arthur Baker produced single 'The Message Is Love'.
Al was also featured in the 1988 movie 'Scrooged' recording the song 'Put A Little Love In Your Heart', a duet with Annie Lennox.
Soul fans look to his single 'Keep On Pushing Love' as one of his finest recent releases.
Albums:
Back Up Train (1967)
Green Is Blues (Hi 1970)
AI Green Gets Next To You (Hi 1971)
Let's Stay Together (Hi 1972)
AI Green (Bell 1972)
I'm Still In Love With You (Hi 1972)
Call Me (Hi 1973)
Livin' For You (Hi 1973)
AI Green Explores Your Mind (Hi 1974)
AI Green Is Love (Hi 1975)
Full Of Fire (Hi 1976)
Have A Good Time (Hi 1976)
The Belle Album (Hi 1977)
Truth 'N' Time (Hi 1978)
The Lord Will Make A Way (Myrrh 1980)
Higher Plane (Myrrh 1981)
Tokyo Live (Hi 1981)
Precious Lord (Myrhh 1982)
I'll Rise Again (Myrrh 1983)
Trust In God (Myrrh 1984)
He Is The Light (A&M 1985)
Going Away (A&M 1986)
White Christmas (Hi 1986)
Soul Survivor (A&M 1987)
I Get Joy (A&M 1989)
Don't Look Back (RCA 1993)
In Good Hands (MCA 1995)
On Fire In Tokyo (Xenon 1998)
I Can't Stop (Blue Note 2003)
Everything's O.K. (Blue Note 2005)
