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.
Nothing Takes The Place Of You
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From my walls
And i replaced them
Both large and small
And each new day
Finds me so blue
Nothing
Takes the place of you
I read your letters one by one
And i still love you
When it's all said and done
And oh, my darling, i'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh nothing
Takes the place of you
I, i write this letter
It's raining on my window pane
I, i feel the need of you
Because without you
Nothing seems the same
So i'll wait
Until you're home
Again i love you
But i'm all alone
And oh my darling
I'm so blue
Because nothing
Oh, but nothing takes the place of you.
The lyrics of the song 'Nothing Takes The Place Of You' by Al Green tells the story of a man who is trying to move on from a past relationship but is struggling to do so. Despite trying to replace certain aspects of his life that were related to his former lover, he cannot shake off the feeling of sadness that has taken over him. The fact that he still reads her letters and loves her even after everything is clear evidence that he cannot let go of his love for her. When he writes a letter to his lover, the rain falling on his windowpane reflects his inner turmoil and desire for her. He hopes to remain patient until she returns to him because he is clearly all alone without her. Despite the heartbreak, he acknowledges that nothing else can ever take the place of his lover in his life.
Overall, the lyrics of this song emphasize the struggle of letting go of a past relationship and the difficult adjustment of trying to move on without the person you love. The tone of the song is characterized by sadness and nostalgia for the love that once was. The struggle of the man portrayed in the song is an all too-common experience for many. The lyrics of the song have resonated with listeners for decades and are still relevant today.
Line by Line Meaning
I moved your picture
I removed your picture from the wall
From my walls
It was hanging on the wall in my home
And i replaced them
I put up new pictures in their place
Both large and small
Of various sizes
And each new day
With each passing day
Finds me so blue
I am overcome with sadness
Nothing
There is nothing
Takes the place of you
That can replace you in my heart
I read your letters one by one
I carefully read each letter you sent me
And i still love you
My love for you has not diminished
When it's all said and done
In the end
And oh, my darling, i'm so blue
I am deeply saddened, my dear
Because nothing
There is nothing
Oh nothing
Absolutely nothing
Takes the place of you
That can fill this void you left
I, i write this letter
I am currently writing this letter
It's raining on my window pane
Raindrops are hitting my window glass
I, i feel the need of you
I have an intense longing for you
Because without you
In your absence
Nothing seems the same
Things feel different and incomplete
So i'll wait
I will be patient
Until you're home
Until you return
Again i love you
My love for you continues
But i'm all alone
But I am currently by myself
And oh my darling
My dear
I'm so blue
I am overwhelmed with sadness
Because nothing
There is nothing
Oh, but nothing takes the place of you.
That can come close to filling this void you left in my life
Contributed by Christian T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vern Logan
I have never heard a bad version of this song. This is the first time I have heard Al Green's version. Beautiful.
Donna Bliss
I love anything Al Green does! I have since I was about 11 years old. Also, he’s from Arkansas like me & I was always proud of successful people from my home state. Levon Helm, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Billy Bob Thornton and more. Al Green is terrific!
Donald Johnson
this most beautiful song if people realize that nothing take the place of not us but love when love steps in then, nothing takes the place of YOU! !!
alice js
SAY THAT!
Donald Johnson
why cant people just love? and then realize nothing takes the place of the person who gives it damn! !!
Isaac Alston
love this song.
Sherry Taylor-Woods
My beloved husband who passed away 3 yrs ago, tomorrow is his birthday! Nothing takes the place of you!! I'll always love you!!!
Richard Rampersad
SO SAD TO KNOW DEAR.... PEACE AND STRENGTH
Sat Ren
Nothing ever will.... :,( Even after 4 years each day hurts even more and more
GhostTrain615
For me, Sat Ren, it has been 24 years and for me, the pain still goes on.