Shocking Life Story of Soul Singer Al Green

Al Green (born Greene) was born on April 13, 1946 in Forrest City, Arkansas. He grew up singing gospel music, touring the South with his siblings who performed as The Greene Brothers.

But Green also loved R&B and soul music, especially Jackie Wilson. At age 16, he left his family’s group for Al Greene and the Creations, an R&B group he formed with some of his high school friends.

Al Green had modest success with his group, but a chance meeting in 1969 would thrust him into the spotlight. Green met Willie Mitchell, producer and executive at Memphis-based record label Hi Records at a Texas club in 1969. Mitchell convinced Green to move to Memphis to cultivate his career.

As the 1970s got underway, Al Green and Willie Mitchel were proving themselves to be a match made in music heaven. In 1971, Green released a cover of The Temptations “I Can’t Get Next to You” which rose to the top of the soul charts that year.

Just one year later, Green released what would become one of the biggest hits of his career – the soulful ballad “Let’s Stay Together.” The song, which remains a constant fixture on Black wedding reception and cookout playlists everywhere, hit number one on both the R&B and pop charts.

Green and Mitchell would continue to release a string of hits in the early 1970s, including “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)“ and the funky 1973 track “Love and Happiness.”

– From ‘Here I Am (Come and Take Me),‘ 1973

By 1974, Al Green had reached peak star status, but a tragic event would force him to consider a change of course. On October 18, 1974, Green was attacked by ex-girlfriend Mary Woodson. Woodson surprised Green at his Memphis home, entered his bathroom and poured a pot of hot grits on his back while he was in the bathtub. The woman then fatally shot herself with Green’s gun. The incident forced the singer to spend months in the hospital being treated for burns.

Green didn’t understand why Woodson attacked him at the time but said he eventually learned she got angry when he told her he wasn’t ready to make their relationship exclusive. Green eventually learned that Woodson left her husband and children to shoot her shot with the “Love and Happiness” singer. He said Woodson told him she didn’t want to go on without him, even though he tried to convince her the decision to keep things casual was best for both of them.

“I never knew any of these things until after the incident happened,” he said in an interview.

Two years after his attack, Green returned to his gospel roots in a big way. In 1976, he purchased a church building, became an ordained minister and launched Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis where he preached when he wasn’t touring.

In 1979, Green fell off the stage during a performance in Cincinnati. Although his injuries weren’t serious, he took it as a sign from God and decided he would give up his sensual secular sound and go back to making gospel music full time.

Green’s musical success carried over to his gospel career. In 1992, he was nominated for a GRAMMY for his gospel album “Love is Reality.”

In 2008, Al Green did another musical 180 when he released “Lay it Down,” his 29th studio album. Although he got plenty of assists from the likes of Anthony Hamilton, John Legend and producer Questlove, his voice is just as gritty and soulful as it was in the 1970s – and he more than proved he could still hit those high notes.