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.
Your Love Is Like The Morning Sun
Al Green Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love is in the air, I don't care
Look at the smiling faces
Makes me know that no one can take your place, your place, your place
Love is the morning sun, shining so brightly
It's me that's missing your love, now
I'd never leave you in this leave, oh no never never
Throwing up my hands, not being a man
Don't you know that's not going to pay
Love is the morning sun, shining so brightly
It's me that's missing your love, now
I'm tired of being alone, bye
Still in love with you, now
Let's stay together
The lyrics of Al Green's song 'Your Love is Like The Morning Sun' is an ode to the power of love. The opening line "Look at the morning sun, shining so brightly" creates a metaphorical image of the beauty of love, similar to the calming warmth of the morning sun. The next line, "Love is in the air, I don't care," depicts the feeling of pure bliss one experiences when in love, to the extent that nothing else seems to matter. The following line, "Look at the smiling faces," seems to suggest that the presence of love brightens up everyone's day.
The next line, "Makes me know that no one can take your place, your place, your place" further emphasizes the significance of the person Green is singing about and how they have an irreplaceable space in his life. The following verses explore the effect of the absence of this love in his life, alluding to how it has caused his skies to turn grey and how he feels lost without it. However, he is determined to make amends and be with the person he loves, hence the line "Still in love with you, now/Let's stay together."
In essence, the lyrics of 'Your Love is Like The Morning Sun' extol the virtues of love, describing it as a beautiful and essential part of life, concluding with an expression of hope in the belief that love can conquer all.
Line by Line Meaning
Look at the morning sun, shining so brightly
Love is the morning sun, shining so brightly
Love is in the air, I don't care
Love is present everywhere and I embrace it wholeheartedly
Look at the smiling faces
The happy faces remind me of our beautiful moments together
Makes me know that no one can take your place, your place, your place
The memory of our love reminds me that no one can ever replace you in my heart
All the skies are grey, now messing up my day
Without your love, even the brightest of days seem dull and lifeless
I'd never leave you in this leave, oh no never never
I will never abandon you in your time of need
Throwing up my hands, not being a man
Feeling helpless and powerless, I am not living up to the expectations of a man
Don't you know that's not going to pay
I realize that my despair and inaction will not solve anything
I'm tired of being alone, bye
I am exhausted and lonely without you, it's time to say goodbye to this emptiness
Still in love with you, now
My love for you hasn't faded even a bit, it's as strong as ever
Let's stay together
I want us to stay together and overcome all odds as a team
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL GREEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shiningstar6659
"Call Me" is one of the single greatest albums of all time. This song is a brilliant Gem among the other Jewels on the album. Al is a phenomenal songwriter as well as singer.
@deebrandon9787
Not one skip - but I do tend to repeat some songs more than others. This is one of them...
@lorettadeherrera4249
Still gives me chills...💘 💘 💘...Mmm..hmm..💘 💘..
@arcticjoe5532
well I might as well start it off: if you don't, or didn't have the album, or 8 track, being that there was no cassettes in the 70's period, you'd know nothing about this Gem...I like how AL threw in 3 of his song titles at the end..tired of being alone, I'm still in love with you, and let's stay together.
@mocha0030
i love his music so much. i just went on a binge listening to all his albums to find the hidden gems.
@minkmack81
@@mocha0030🏆✨👌🏾🏆✨👌🏾🏆✨👌🏾
@unique74muzik
Hidden gem. Last song on the album.
@pattoliver4590
Omg I just heard this song 15 mins ago for the first time ever me and wifey sitting back enjoying a drank and a blunt winding down after work.🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤
@andrewjwheelerjr275
The cool the calm and the collected soulful soul of brother al I, m so tired of being alone green with your love is like the morning sun you need some sun shades to keep them rays off the eyes be it ,all blind you so smooth and warm with this classic masterpiece from the decade of 70,s grooves sing on brother soul peace everyone😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂.
@jimmiecarter3099
I wish #ripherbkent would've played this gem on the radio