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.
Not Tonight
Al Green Lyrics
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You've been there since my life's just begun
I don't know just how to explain
How I feel about you, I feel about you
Girl, don't get on that train
And don't get on that plane
Baby, not tonight
'Cause I'm in love with you
And I swear, you know it's true
Baby, not tonight
And I'd never go and leave you
That's one thing about me
I'll never go and deceive you
No, no, no
I'd never go and bring you
And then turn and go away from you
Away from you
Don't get on the train
Don't get on the train
Baby, not tonight
Baby, not tonight
Listen, I'm in love with you
And I swear, you know it's true
Baby, not tonight
Take my advice
Don't you never, never
Never, never, never
Think about it twice
All my life, all my life
One more time
Take my advice
Don't think about it twice tonight
Don't get on that train
Don't you dare get on that train
Baby, not tonight
Baby, not tonight
I'm in love with you
And I swear this love is true
Baby, not tonight
Don't get on that train
Don't get on that plane
Baby, not tonight
Baby, not tonight
I'm in love with you
I swear, you know it's true
Baby, not tonight
Don't get on that train
Don't get on that plane
Baby, not tonight
Baby, not tonight
Al Green's song "Not Tonight" is a plea for his love interest to stay and not leave him. He acknowledges that she has been there since day one and he doesn't quite know how to put into words how he feels about her. Green goes on to beg her not to leave with lines like "Girl, don't get on that train, and don't get on that plane, baby not tonight" emphasizing how important it is for her not to leave. Green exclaims, "I'm in love with you, and I swear you know it's true, baby, not tonight” to emphasize to his love how deeply he cares for her. In the chorus he repeats himself as he begs her to stay and not leave him, continually declaring his love for her.
Green's declaration of his love is backed by the music which accentuates the delicate pleading tone of his voice. The lyrics call to mind a sense of desperation to keep the love he has found, a determination not to let it go. The lines "Take my advice, don't think about it twice tonight" express the earnestness behind Al Green's plea not to leave. It is a song about the vulnerability and urgency of needing to hold onto someone you love dearly.
"Not Tonight" was released in 1972 and recorded in Memphis, Tennessee. It speaks to the soulful and romantic style of Al Green's music, which made him one of the most influential soul singers of his time. The song was both written and produced by Green, with backing vocals by Rhodes, Chalmers, and Rhodes. Not only was it included as a track on Green's celebrated album "I'm Still In Love With You," but it also hit number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the year it was released.
Line by Line Meaning
You've been there from day one
Right from the very beginning, you have been a constant presence in my life
You've been there since my life's just begun
Ever since my life began, you have been a part of it
I don't know just how to explain
I don't have the words to describe
How I feel about you, I feel about you
The depth of my feelings for you is indescribable
Girl, don't get on that train
I'm begging you not to leave me by taking that train
And don't get on that plane
I'm also pleading with you not to leave by taking that plane
Baby, not tonight
Please, not tonight
'Cause I'm in love with you
I'm deeply in love with you
And I swear, you know it's true
I promise that my love for you is real
And I'd never go and leave you
I would never abandon you
That's one thing about me
This is the one thing you can always count on me for
I'll never go and deceive you
I will never lie to you or break your trust
No, no, no
I absolutely mean it
I'd never go and bring you
I would never take you somewhere
And then turn and go away from you
And then leave you alone there
Away from you
Without any regard for your feelings or safety
Listen, I'm in love with you
I really need you to hear this - I am in love with you
Take my advice
Trust me and listen to what I'm saying
Don't you never, never
Absolutely do not
Never, never, never
Under no circumstances
Think about it twice
Consider your decision carefully
All my life, all my life
As long as I have lived
One more time
I'm going to say this again
Don't think about it twice tonight
Please don't spend any more time considering your decision
Don't you dare get on that train
I implore you, do not take that train
I swear this love is true
I promise that my love for you is real
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Al Green, Willie Lawrence Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Stephanie Montgomery
Slow drag close and tight music