al green

Al Green in concert at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California on July 27, 2006. Background information Birth name Albert Greene Also known as The Reverend Al Green Born April 13, 1946 (1946-04-13) (age 62) Origin Forrest City, Arkansas/Grand Rapids, Michigan Genre(s) R&B

Gospel

Soul Occupation(s) Reverend

Vocalist

Producer Instrument(s) Vocals

Guitar Years active 1967 - present Label(s) Hi

Motown Records

Myrrh Records

The Right Stuff Records Associated acts The Creations

Willie Mitchell Website algreenmusic.com

Albert Greene (born April 13, 1946),[1] better known as Al Green, is an American gospel and soul music singer who received great acclaim in the 1970s. At the 2008 BET Awards Green was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, for all the work he has done throughout his career. Contents [hide] 1 Early years 2 Rise to stardom 3 Return to Faith 4 Return to R&B 5 Discography 5.1 Top Albums 5.2 Top U.S. Pop Hit Singles 6 References 7 See also 8 External links //

Early years

Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas.[1] He was the sixth of ten children born to Robert and Cora Greene. [2] The son of a sharecropper, he started performing at age ten in a Forrest City quartet called the Greene Brothers; he dropped the final "e" from his last name years later as a solo artist. They toured extensively in the mid-1950s in the South until the Greenes moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, when they began to tour around Michigan.[3] His father kicked him out of the group because he caught Green listening to Jackie Wilson.[4]

Green formed a group called Al Greene & the Creations in high school. Curtis Rogers and Palmer James, two members of the Creations, formed an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal. In 1967, under the new name Al Greene & the Soul Mates, the band recorded "Back Up Train" and released it on Hot Line Music; the song was an R&B chart hit. The Soul Mates' subsequent singles did not sell as well. Al Greene's debut LP was released on Hot Line in 1967 called "Back Up Train". The album was upbeat and soulful but didn't do well in sales. This was the only album on the Hot Line label. Green came into contact with band leader Willie Mitchell of Memphis' Hi Records in 1969, when Mitchell hired him as a vocalist for a Texas show with Mitchell's band and then asked him to sign with the label.

Rise to stardom

Mitchell predicted stardom for Green, coaching him to find his own, unique voice at a time when Green had previously been trying to sing like his heroes Jackie Wilson, Wilson Pickett, James Brown, and Sam Cooke. Green's debut album with Hi Records was Green Is Blues, a slow, horn-driven album that allowed Green to show off