Green was born in Forrest City, Arkansas. 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. His father kicked him out of the group because he caught Green listening to Jackie Wilson.
In 1967 at the age of 16, Al formed an R&B group, Al Green & the Creations, with several of his high-school friends. Two Creation members, Curtis Rogers and Palmer James, founded their own independent record company, Hot Line Music Journal, and had the group record for the label. By that time, the Creations had been re-named the Soul Mates. The group's first single, "Back Up Train," became a surprise hit, climbing to number five on the R&B charts early in 1968. The Soul Mates attempted to record another hit, but all of their subsequent singles failed to find an audience. In 1969, Al Green met bandleader and Hi Records vice president Willie Mitchell while on tour in Midland, Texas. Impressed with Green's voice, he signed the singer to Hi Records, and began collaborating with Al on his debut album
He was perhaps the ideal complement to the orchestral, syrupy, strong soul production work of Hi Records wizard Willie Mitchell, who also helmed 70s classics for Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, and himself.
On October 18, 1974, Mary Woodson, a woman who was his longtime girlfriend, threw a large pot of sticky boiling grits on him as he was preparing to shower, because he didn't want to get married. She committed suicide in minutes, which deeply affected Green to turn to God and religion. This assault from behind caused third-degree burns on his back, stomach and arm. Deeply shaken, Green continued to reaffirm and grow closer to his deeply held love for God, and became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976.
Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and drew mixed reviews from critics. 1977's The Belle Album was critically acclaimed but did not regain his former mass audience. In 1979 Green injured himself falling off the stage while performing in Cincinnati and interpreted this as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel singing, also appearing in 1982 with Patti Labelle in the Broadway musical Your Arms Too Short to Box with God. According to Glide Magazine, "by the late 70s, he had begun concentrating almost exclusively on gospel music." His first gospel album was The Lord Will Make a Way. From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel recordings, garnering eight "soul gospel performance" Grammys in that period. In 1985, he reunited with Willie Mitchell along with Angelo Earl for He Is the Light, his first album for A&M Records. In 1984, director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church. In 1989, Green released "I Get Joy", again with producer/guitarist Angelo Earl. In 2001, he appeared in the movie and soundtrack of On the Line featuring Lance Bass.
After spending several years exclusively performing gospel, Green began to return to Rhythm & Blues. First, he released a duet with Annie Lennox, "Put a Little Love in Your Heart" for Scrooged, a 1988 Bill Murray film. In 1989 Green worked with producer Arthur Baker writing and producing the international hit "The Message Is Love". In 1991 he created the introductory theme song for the short-lived television series Good Sports featuring Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett. In 1992, Green recorded again with Baker, the Fine Young Cannibals, and reunited with his former Memphis mix engineer (this time functioning as producer) Terry Manning, to release the album Don't Look Back. His 1994 duet with country music singer Lyle Lovett blended country with R&B, garnering him his ninth Grammy, this time in a pop music category. Green's first secular album in some time was Your Heart's In Good Hands (1995), released to positive reviews but disappointing sales, the same year Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2000, Green published Take Me to the River, a book discussing his career. Green received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002.
In 2001, Green's live cover of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" was released on the soundtrack to Will Smith's film Ali (the song plays when Muhammad Ali learns of the death of close friend Malcolm X).
By 2003 Green released a non-religious (secular) album entitled I Can't Stop, his first collaboration with Willie Mitchell since 1985's He is the Light. In March 2005 he issued Everything's OK as the follow-up to I Can't Stop. Green also collaborated with Mitchell on this secular CD.
The title of Al Green's latest album Lay It Down released May, 2008, truly tells it like it is. Conceived as a collaboration between the soul legend and a handful of gifted young admirers from the worlds of contemporary R&B and hip hop, the album is drawn from a series of inspired sessions that yielded the most high-spirited, funky and often lushly romantic songs of Green's latter-day career.
The project features the sophisticated R&B voices of singer-songwriters John Legend, Anthony Hamilton and Corinne Bailey Rae, and it was co-produced with Green by two of hip-hop's most innovative players, drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson from the Roots and keyboardist James Poyser , the go-to guy for high-profile artists ranging from Erykah Badu to Common. Add in Brooklyn's celebrated Dap-King Horns (Sharon Jones, Amy Winehouse), guitarist Chalmers "Spanky" Alford (Mighty Clouds of Joy, Joss Stone) and bassist Adam Blackstone (Jill Scott, DJ Jazzy Jeff), among others, and you've got a modern soul-music dream team, fronted by the most expressive voice in the business.
Blessed
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can just see heaven in your eyes
It makes me know
This is not an every day love
We've got something I'm sure we can be proud of
We've got so much love
We've got so much trust
I can see a halo hanging over us
Your love is heavenly design
I like kissing you
Holding you
Wanting you
Squeezing you
People start to criticize
It don't bother me
Cause I know go is on our side
The lyrics of Al Green's "God Blessed Our Love" allude to a love that transcends the ordinary and is more significant than a casual romantic attachment. The opening lines, "Every morning when I rise, I can just see heaven in your eyes," immediately evoke a sense of spirituality, suggesting a connection with the divine that is nurtured by the love between the two individuals in the relationship. The intensity of this love is reinforced by the reference to the halo over them, representing their purity of soul and the radiance of their love that sets them apart. When Green sings "It makes me know, this is not an every day love," he is referring to the special bond they share, which is unique and cannot be replicated.
The chorus, "We've got so much love, we've got so much trust," suggests that their love is not only an emotional connection but is also grounded in mutual respect and trust. This is further emphasized in the lines, "Your love is heavenly design, I like kissing you, holding you, wanting you, squeezing you," which indicate that their love is a soulful connection based on physical as well as emotional intimacy. In the last few lines, Green reinforces his belief in the sanctity of their love, stating that even if people criticize it, he knows that God is on their side and they have something to be proud of.
Line by Line Meaning
Every morning when I rise
Every day when I wake up
I can just see heaven in your eyes
When I look at you, I see paradise
It makes me know
It assures me
This is not an every day love
Our love is special and unique
We've got something I'm sure we can be proud of
We have a relationship to be proud of
We've got so much love
Our love is abundant
We've got so much trust
We have faith in each other
I can see a halo hanging over us
It feels like we're blessed by a divine power
Your love is heavenly design
Your love is a perfect, divine creation
I like kissing you
I enjoy kissing you
Holding you
I like holding you
Wanting you
I desire you
Squeezing you
I love hugging you tightly
People start to criticize
Others may start to judge us
It don't bother me
Their judgement doesn't affect me
Cause I know go is on our side
I know that God is supporting us
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL L. GREEN, EARL RANDLE, WILLIE MITCHELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CAut
2021 and this is still a hit. I love watching him live. He's got a real gift and I'm thankful he shared it with us. 😍👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Ricky Avery
@Ramond Jenkins I
Ramond Jenkins
Pp
30
Lenora Gardner
Love you Rock
Phindile Ntethe
May God bless you Al Green for blessings our hearts with your God given talent. Only u can do that...
Roy Shuler
I literally fell into a trance near the middle of this performance. Al’s voice stopped me in my tracks. Sadly, we rarely, if ever see this kind of talent nowadays.
PAUL
I don't even know how to put into words how much this man means to me! but as others have said, how the fxxx was he able to do this live, its GOT to be one of the greatest live performances of ALL time. I love him so much and am SO grateful for what he has brought to my life !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since I was 15 and im 68 now.
Scott A
I've been to hear Al Green in concert 6 times over the years. Always great but never an encore.
Carlos Noriega
Same here..😎❤️🙏🏽
Heidi Hemore
@Julia Wallace ??