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.
Oh Pretty Woman
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
Pretty woman, I don't believe you, you're not the truth
No one can look as good as you
Pretty woman, won't you pardon me?
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
Pretty woman, that you look lovely as can be
[Chorus]
Pretty woman, stop while
Pretty woman, talk awhile
Pretty woman, give your smile to me
Pretty woman, hey hey
Pretty woman, look my way
Pretty woman, give your smile to me
Cause I need you, I'll treat you right
Come to me baby, be mine tonight
[Chorus: x2]
The lyrics of Al Green's "Oh Pretty Woman" describe the singer's admiration for a beautiful woman walking down the street. He can't believe how good she looks and he is drawn to her. He tries to get her attention by asking if she's lonely like him and requests her to stop and talk to him. He insists that he'll treat her right and wants her to be his for the night. The song's chorus emphasizes the singer's desire for the woman's attention and smile.
The lyrics of "Oh Pretty Woman" can be interpreted as a portrayal of desire and longing for someone who is unattainable, especially given that the woman is a stranger walking down the street. The emphasis on her looks emphasizes the superficiality of attraction and desire. The singer expresses a desire for her attention and gives her a sense of agency with his requests for her to stop and talk, but ultimately, the song is a declaration of the singer's desire for the woman to submit to his wishes.
Line by Line Meaning
Pretty woman, walking down the street
Observe that beautiful lady walking on the street
Pretty woman, the kind I like to meet
That's my type of woman whom I want to know
Pretty woman, I don't believe you, you're not the truth
I can't believe that you're so pretty, you must be a dream
No one can look as good as you
I have not seen anyone as beautiful as you
Pretty woman, won't you pardon me?
Excuse me pretty lady
Pretty woman, I couldn't help but see
I could not resist noticing how stunning you are
Pretty woman, that you look lovely as can be
You are so beautiful I can't find words to describe
Now are you lonely just like me?
Are you also searching for love and companionship, just like me?
Pretty woman, stop awhile
Can you stop and have a conversation with me?
Pretty woman, talk awhile
Let's chat for a little while!
Pretty woman, give your smile to me
Please bless me with that beautiful smile, I'd love to see
Pretty woman, hey hey
Hey beautiful lady
Pretty woman, look my way
Please turn your face towards me, just for a moment
Cause I need you, I'll treat you right
I want you in my life, I'll take good care of you
Come to me baby, be mine tonight
Please come to me, let's spend the night together
Pretty woman, stop awhile
Please stop and chat with me for a few more minutes
Pretty woman, talk awhile
Let's keep talking and getting to know each other better
Pretty woman, give your smile to me
That lovely smile of yours has become my weakness, please smile a little more
Pretty woman, hey hey
Hey beautiful!
Pretty woman, look my way
Can I have one more glance, this time towards me?
Lyrics © Orbi-Lee Music, Barbara Orbison Music Company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, R-Key Darkus
Written by: Bill Dees, Roy Orbison
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Weldon Harper
Al Green sang the best version of this song.
Kisha Daniels
I'm at my grandmother's grave site playing this.. This was her jam when her and her sisters came together under one roof with there grandchildren. I remember dancing with her and my cousin's laughing. Cause they had a little taste, wink wink,,
504mrbig
Every song on this album, jammed, his best album, in my opinion
Get Over It Media
Absolutely agree. 💯
Jason Camphor
This album is a straight Masterpiece!! A master class in soul music!
Tunya Starks
My Mom had the 8 track of his greatest hits. (Telling my age) and whenever this song came on, she would sing it and put my name in the chorus, "Pretty Tunya, give your smile to me". I sure do miss her and those rides in the Pontiac Grand Prix
Laura Lindsey
Al Greene’s voice and the tap of the organ gets into your soul...can you feel it?
derek miller
Al Greens version is Awesome 👌. Just like How can you mend a broken 💔❤. AL GREEN IS JUST INCREDIBLE.
Elizabeth Pascal
I loved this song! I still play it
Nathan Brooken
The drumming on this song is exquisite Al Jackson Jr. was a groove master