Early Life
Al Green was born Albert Leornes Greene on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas. He grew up with mother Cora Lee, father Robert Jr. (a sharecropper), and nine siblings. Al and his brothers formed the singing group the Greene Brothers when he was 10 years old. In the late 1950s, the family moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, and when Green was a teenager, his father kicked him out of the house for listening to the music of soul singer Jackie Wilson. Al began living with his girlfriend, who was a prostitute, and started using drugs. Green formed the singing group Al Greene & the Creations as a high school student, and members Palmer James and Curtis Rodgers created an independent record label, Hot Line Music Journal. In 1968, the group recorded the song “Back Up Train” as Al Greene & the Soul Mates and released the track on Hot Line. “Back Up Train” reached #46 on the “Cash Box” Top 100 chart. While performing with the group, Al met Willie Mitchell, a Memphis record producer, and sang with Mitchell’s band during a 1969 show in Texas. Green then signed with Mitchell’s label, Hi Records.
Career
Before releasing his debut solo album, 1969’s “Green Is Blues,” Al dropped the final “e” from his last name. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard " Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and though 1971’s “Al Green Gets Next to You” didn’t do as well, the single “Tired of Being Alone” went Gold and reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Al released his first Gold album, “Let’s Stay Together,” in 1972, and the title track hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains his most popular song to this day. Later that year, Green released the album “I’m Still in Love with You,” which was certified Platinum; the title track and the single “Look What You Done for Me” both went Gold. He had three top 10 singles with 1973’s “Call Me”: “Here I Am (Come and Take Me),” “You Ought to Be with Me,” and “Call Me (Come Back Home).” “Call Me” and Al’s next two albums, 1973’s “Livin’ for You” and 1974’s “Al Green Explores Your Mind,” were all certified Gold.
Personal Life
In 1974, Al was assaulted by his girlfriend, Mary Woodson, at his Memphis home. Upset that Green wouldn’t marry her (though she was already married at the time), Woodson threw scalding grits at him, causing second-degree burns. Mary then died by suicide after shooting herself with Al’s gun. After the tragic event, Green decided to change his life, and he opened the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis in 1976; Al has been preaching and singing at the church ever since. Green married Shirley Kyles on June 15, 1977, and they had three daughters together (Alva, Rubi, and Kora) before divorcing in 1983. Shirley alleged that Al abused her during the marriage and testified that Green assaulted her with a boot when she was five months pregnant, causing a head wound requiring stitches. Besides the children he had with Shirley, Al is also father to sons Al Jr. and Trevor and daughter Kala. In 1974, Linda Wills, a former secretary of Green’s, sued him for $100,000, stating that the singer had assaulted her and pushed her through a glass door during an argument. In 1978, Al was arrested for assault and battery after allegedly beating a Memphis woman, Lovie Smith, with a tree limb until she lost consciousness. The charges were dismissed the following year because Smith moved and could not be served a subpoena, causing her to miss the court date.
Real Estate
In 2011, Al paid $300,000 for a home in Tennessee.
Awards and Honors
Green has earned 21 Grammy nominations, winning 11 in the R&B, soul, gospel, and pop categories. “Let’s Stay Together” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and “Take Me to the River” was inducted in 2011. Al has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1995), the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (2004), The Songwriters Hall of Fame (2004), and the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame (2009). Green was named a BMI Icon at the 2004 BMI Urban Awards, and he was a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2014.
