[Musicians] Al Green

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• Musician Name:Albert Leornes Greene
• Birthday / Location: April 13, 1946 (age 77) Forrest City, Arkansas United States
• Main instrument: Soul, R&B, gospel, Southern soul soul progressivo
• Musician Picture:
• Musician Awards & Nominations:-
• Best Performance: -
• Other Information: Al Green started singing at the age of nine along with three other brothers in his father's gospel group, the Green Brothers. The quartet even toured the southern United States during the 1950s. At that time, the Greene family moved to the state of Michigan. There, young Al Green formed his R&B group, called Al Green and the Creations (which in 1968 would be renamed the Soul Mates). In 1968, the Soul Mates reached the Top 5 of the Billboard Black Singles chart with the song "Back Up Train".
• In 1969, Green left the band and pursued a solo career. He met producer Willie Mitchell, with whom he became very close. That same year, "Green is Blues", his debut album, was released. The following year he released the album "Al Green Gets Next to You".
• Subsequently, Al Green released 1972's "Let's Stay Together". The LP peaked at number eight on the Billboard Pop chart and number one on the Black chart. The title song topped both lists.
• Later, Al Green would experience a personal tragedy in 1975 involving his girlfriend Mary Woodson. In October 1974, after being refused a marriage proposal, Mary threw a boiling pot over Al while he was taking a bath. The singer had second-degree burns on his abdomen, back and arm. After the aggression, Mary went into another room and committed suicide, with Green's gun.
• Subsequently, Al Green converted to Christianity. By 1976, he had purchased a church in Memphis and ordained as pastor of Full Gospel Tabernacle. Although he continued to record R&B, sales of his records began to decline and criticism of his work grew - although music critics praised "The Belle Album", from 1977.
• During a performance in 1979, Green was injured and so, the singer approached religion even more, starting to preach and sing only gospel music. His first album of this phase was "The Lord Will Make a Way", in 1980.
• From 1981 to 1989, Green recorded more albums in the genre, eight of which were awarded the Grammy for "Best Soul/Gospel Performance". In 1984, film director Robert Mugge released "Gospel According to Al Green", a documentary that includes interviews about the singer's life and footage of him in his church.
• After several years in the gospel style, Green began his return to R&B, with the release of the duet with British singer Annie Lennox of "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" (written in 1968 by Jackie DeShannon), for the comedy The Phantoms Against -Atacam, and the composition of the hit "The Message Is Love", a partnership with producer Arthur Baker.
• His 1994 duet with country music singer Lyle Lovett fused this style of music with R&B and won him his ninth Grammy - a first in the pop music category. The following year, Green's first secular (non-religious) album "Your Heart's In Good Hands" was released. Although it received positive reviews from music critics, the CD did not sell well. In 1995, Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
• In 2000, Green published "Take Me to the River", a book that examines his career. Two years later, the singer received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement.
• In 2003, "I Can't Stop" was released, the first album produced by Willie Mitchell since 1985, and the first commercially successful work in decades. In 2004, Green was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. Also that year, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Green at number 65 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.