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.
The Message Is Love
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can't find something to believe
They put so much faith in people who are lying
They're so easy to deceive
It ain't no mystery, you know the words to set you free
There for all the world to see
When you got it on your side
There's no reason left to hide
The message is love
Love is the message and the message is love
From the streets to the mountains to the heavens above
Tell everybody
Tell everybody what you're dreaming of
Tell them love is the message and the message is love
Deep in every heart there, is on answer
What will it take to make it real?
Even a soul behind a wall of confusion
Still can tell you what you feel
Why must it be the sight of something burning in the night
To make us hunger for the day
It ain't no mystery, just love enough to let it be
Everybody knows the way
The message is love
Love is the message and the message is love
From the streets to the mountains to the heavens above
Tell everybody
Tell everybody what you're dreaming of
Tell them love is the message and the message is love
Can't you hear the sound? Must be the earth spinning 'round
We're gonna find out just what the world is all about
The message is love
Love is the message and the message is love
From the streets to the mountains to the heavens above
Tell everybody
Tell everybody what you're dreaming of
Tell them love is the message and the message is love
In "The Message Is Love" by Al Green, he sings about the power of love in a world where there is much pain and suffering. The song begins by acknowledging the sadness and hopelessness that many people feel when they cannot figure out what to believe in. Green speaks of how easy it is to be deceived when we put faith in people who are lying to us. However, he notes that the words to set us free can be found through the power of love. When we have love on our side, there is no reason to hide anything, and we must give love in order to receive it.
Green emphasizes that love is the message that we must share with the world. He encourages everyone to let others know about their hopes and dreams, and how love can help us achieve them. He also acknowledges the confusion that many people feel about their lives, but argues that everyone has an answer deep within their hearts. Finally, he notes that love is the only way to truly understand the world and what it is all about.
Overall, "The Message Is Love" is a deeply optimistic song that promotes the power of love to make a difference in the world. It acknowledges the pain that people feel, but argues that love is the only way to truly make a change for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
All around the world there are people crying
People all over the world are emotionally hurt and vulnerable.
Can't find something to believe
These people are searching for something to have faith in.
They put so much faith in people who are lying
Often people trust those who deceive them.
They're so easy to deceive
People can easily be misled when they are vulnerable.
It ain't no mystery, you know the words to set you free
The solution to this problem is known to everyone.
There for all the world to see
The solution is simple and clear.
When you got it on your side
When you possess the solution, the problem disappears.
There's no reason left to hide
You no longer need to hide behind your vulnerability.
You've got to give it to receive
To solve this problem, you need to give back.
The message is love
The solution to people's emotional hurt is to love and be loved.
Love is the message and the message is love
Love is both the problem and its solution.
From the streets to the mountains to the heavens above
This message applies to everyone, everywhere.
Tell everybody
Spread the message far and wide.
Tell everybody what you're dreaming of
Share your vision of a world full of love.
Deep in every heart there, is on answer
The solution to the problem lies within every person.
What will it take to make it real?
What is needed to translate this vision into a reality?
Even a soul behind a wall of confusion
Even someone who is emotionally disconnected can recognize the value of love.
Still can tell you what you feel
These individuals can still understand the power of emotions.
Why must it be the sight of something burning in the night
Why does it take a tragedy to trigger people's love and empathy?
To make us hunger for the day
To inspire us to work for a better world.
It ain't no mystery, just love enough to let it be
The solution is simple and requires only enough love to be allowed to flourish.
Everybody knows the way
Everyone inherently knows how to love and be loved.
Can't you hear the sound? Must be the earth spinning 'round
This message is as fundamental and natural as the earth's rotation.
We're gonna find out just what the world is all about
This message is essential to truly understand the world and humanity.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: ARTHUR BAKER, RICHARD C. SCHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@52missouri
Born in 1952, St. Louis
Damn shame they don´t make music like this any more.
@gabrielamuller339
"Liebe soll immer alles retten"; - manche Formen der Liebe sind die reinste Sklaverei, die es gibt.
@thomasklein1966
Ein zeitloser Song, den man sich noch in Jahren anhören kann.
@MrPetehamburch
Ein genialer Sänger
@topperharley1337
Unbelievable there was a time where stars could perform live and it sounds better than "stars" today with autotune.
@oa5476
Too true
@CitrusandCapri
❤️🎵 True!!!
@CitrusandCapri
❤️❤️❤️🙏🏽 Miss those times!!!
@SuperDerrick2010
Very true
@mr.weedbreed
...true, sadly but true