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.
Play to Win
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you're gonna play, you've got to play to win
Hey baby, the time is right
Only tonight he's out of sight
I know it's you, for what I know
Tell all the guys, it's time to go
Your love is all I need
Oh baby, ooh baby, ooh baby
We've got love
No money, no diamond rings, ooh baby
We've got love
I know just what I'm sayin'
I ain't lyin' and I ain't playin'
Only the love is what I need
You can see whatever you wanna see
I can't share your love alone
If not tonight, oh baby, then I'm gone
Whatever you say, I know you're right
Only tonight, only tonight
Oh baby, oh baby, oh baby
We've got love
No money, no diamond rings, ooh baby
We've got love
I know just what I'm sayin'
I ain't lyin' and I ain't playin'
Only the love is what I need
You can see whatever you wanna see
And I can't share your love alone
If not tonight and then I'm gone
Whatever you say, oh, sure you're right
Only tonight, only tonight, only tonight
Ooh baby, oh baby, ooh
We've got love
No money, no diamond rings, ooh baby
We've got love
Ooh baby, oh baby
We've got love
Hold on, hold on, hold on
We've got love
We got it, we got it, we got it
We've got love
We got it, we got it, we got it
We've got love
We got it, we got it, we got it
We've got love
We got it, we got it, we got it
We've got love
We got it, we got it, we got it
We've got love
We got it, we got it
The lyrics of Al Green's "Play To Win" explore the idea of love being the most important thing in life, more valuable than money, status or other material things. The repeated phrase "we've got love" emphasizes this point and suggests that the singer and his partner have enough love to sustain them even without wealth or luxury. The song also touches on the theme of seizing the moment and not letting opportunities pass by, with the line "If you're gonna play, you've got to play to win". The urgency in the lyrics is created by the repeated use of "only tonight" and the repeated phrase "whatever you say, sure you're right". These phrases indicate a desire to convince the partner to take a chance on love, to spend the night together and see where it leads.
The lyrics are simple and repetitive, but they convey a deep sense of longing and desire. The singer's voice is smooth and soulful, conveying a sense of sincerity and urgency. The use of repetition in the lyrics and the catchy melody make the song memorable and easy to sing along to.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey baby, it's you again
The subject is talking to someone they've seen before.
If you're gonna play, you've got to play to win
If you're going to do something, you need to put in effort and try your hardest.
Hey baby, the time is right
The subject thinks that it's a good time to be together.
Only tonight he's out of sight
The person they're talking about is not around tonight.
I know it's you, for what I know
The subject recognizes who they are talking to.
Tell all the guys, it's time to go
Let the others know that it's time to leave.
Your love is all I need
The subject only needs love from the person they're talking to.
For ever and ever is what I seek
The subject desires a long-lasting relationship.
Oh baby, ooh baby, ooh baby
The subject is affectionately addressing the person they're talking to.
We've got love
They have love between them.
No money, no diamond rings, ooh baby
Their love isn't about material things.
I know just what I'm sayin'
The subject believes what they're saying is true.
I ain't lyin' and I ain't playin'
The subject is being honest and not messing around.
Only the love is what I need
The only thing the subject needs is love from the person they're talking to.
You can see whatever you wanna see
You can think what you want, but this is what the subject wants and needs.
I can't share your love alone
They need the love to be mutual.
If not tonight, oh baby, then I'm gone
If love isn't reciprocated tonight, the subject will leave.
Whatever you say, I know you're right
The subject trusts what the other person is saying.
Only tonight, only tonight
Tonight is the only time when this is important.
We got it, we got it, we got it
The subject is emphasizing the love they have.
Hold on, hold on, hold on
The subject is telling someone to wait or to keep going with what they're doing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, O/B/O CAPASSO, RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: AL GREEN, WILLIE MITCHELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind