Al Green birthed as Albert Leornes Greene, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor, and record producer best known for a string of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including “Take Me to the River”, “Tired of Being Alone”, “I’m Still in Love with You”, “Love and Happiness”, and his signature song, “Let’s Stay Together”. Green became an ordained preacher and turned to gospel music when his lover committed suicide. He eventually returned to secular music.

Who is Al Green?

Al Green birthed as Albert Leornes Greene was born on April 13, 1946, as the sixth of ten children to Cora Lee and sharecropper Robert G. Greene, Jr. in Forrest City, Arkansas. Al began performing with his sister in the Greene Brothers group when he was just ten years old. The Greene family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the late 1950s.

Al was booted out of the family home as a teenager after his devoutly religious father spotted him listening to Jackie Wilson. He then moved in with a prostitute, started hustling[clarification needed], and experimented with recreational drugs.

Al Greene & the Creations was a vocal group he established in high school. Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, two of the group’s members, founded the indie label Hot Line Music Journal. After changing their name to Al Greene & the Soul Mates, they recorded “Back Up Train” in 1968 and released it on Hot Line Music. The song was an R&B chart success, peaking at No. 46 on the Cashbox Top 100. However, the group’s following follow-ups, as well as their debut album Back Up Train, did not chart.

While singing with the Soul Mates, Green met Memphis record producer Willie Mitchell, who engaged him as a vocalist for a Texas gig with Mitchell’s band in 1969. Mitchell approached Green after the event and encouraged him to sign with his Hi Records company.

How old is Al Green?

The Black-American Singer was born on April 13, 1946, and hence, currently 77 years old.

After noticing Green’s attempts to sound like Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown, Mitchell became his vocal mentor, encouraging him to establish his voice. Green dropped the final “e” from his name before recording his first album with Hi. He then published Green Is Blues (1969), which was moderately successful.

His follow-up album, Al Green Gets Next to You (1971) had a popular R&B cover of the Temptations’ “I Can’t Get Next to You,” recorded in a slow blues-oriented approach. The album also had his first major success, “Tired of Being Alone,” which sold a million copies and was certified gold, becoming the first of eight gold singles Green released between 1971 and 1974.

Let’s Stay Together (January 1972), Green’s following album, cemented his status in soul music. The title tune was his biggest hit to date, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 and the R&B charts. This was his first gold-certified album. I’m Still in Love with You (October 1972), his follow-up, went platinum thanks to the singles “Look What You Done for Me” and the title tune, both of which reached the top 10 on the Hot 100.

Call Me (April 1973), his following album, yielded three top-10 singles: “You Ought to Be with Me,” “Call Me (Come Back Home),” and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me).” Green also had radio hits with songs like “Love and Happiness,” his cover of the Bee Gees’ “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” “Simply Beautiful,” “What a Wonderful Thing Love Is,” and “Take Me to the River,” which were later covered successfully by new wave band Talking Heads and blues artist Syl Johnson.

Green’s sales began to decline, so he shifted his concentration to gospel music, releasing six albums on the Christian label Myrrh Records. Al’s first gospel album, “The Lord Will Make a Way,” received two Grammy nominations in 1980. Green appeared on Broadway in 1982 in “Your Arms Too Short to Box with God” alongside Patti LaBelle, and he was the subject of the documentary “Gospel According to Al Green.”

In 1988, Al made his return to secular music with the recording of “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” with Annie Lennox. The song, which was included on the “Scrooged” soundtrack, peaked at number two on the “Billboard” Adult Contemporary chart.

Green won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration in 1994 for her duet “Funny How Time Slips Away” with Lyle Lovett. Al went on to work with several other singers, including Queen Latifah, John Legend, and Ann Nesby, while Questlove of The Roots produced Green’s most recent album, “Lay It Down,” which peaked at #3 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in 2008. Al published the song “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” in 2018 as part of Amazon Music’s “Produced By” series.

What is Al Green’s Net worth?

The renowned soul singer has a net worth of $25 million.

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