Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946) is a soul artist, best known for the hits "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love With You", "Love And Happiness" and his Signature Song "Let's Stay Together".
Green was raised in a religious household, but when his father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson, he kicked him out of the house. From the very start, Green was very open to different kinds of genres, including gospel music like Mahalia Jackson, Rock & Roll artists like Elvis Presley as well as soul artists like Wilson Pickett and Sam Cooke. He started recording in the 1960s, first with a band named Al Greene & The Soul Mates, who scored a hit with "Back Up Train" (1967). Since their follow-up singles didn't have the same impact, Green decided to go solo.
In the 1970s, Green became one of the most succesful soul artists of all time. Sadly, a Stalker with a Crush assaulted Green in 1974 and wanted to get married to him, despite already being married herself. She committed suicide as a result, which made Green decide to ordain himself as pastor. He founded the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis in 1976 (and still presides there). His repertoire changed from soul to gospel and became more religiously inspired, too. He scored another hit in 1988 with Annie Lennox, covering Jackie DeShannon's "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" for the Scrooged soundtrack.
He is one of the few soul singers to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which happened in 1995. In 2004, he was also entered into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2002, he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2010, the song "Let's Stay Together" was inducted in the National Recording Registry for being "historically, culturally and aesthetically significant."
Albums with their own pages on TV Tropes
- Let's Stay Together (1972)
- Call Me (1973)
Al Green's work provides examples of:
- Alliterative Title: His albums "Truth 'n' Time" and "Soul Survivor".
- Christmas Songs: He recorded a Christmas album in 1983.
- Color Motif: He made puns on his last name by naming an album "Green Is Blues" and having the lettering on the album covers of Call Me and Let's Stay Together be in green typography.
- Cover Version: He covered The Temptations' "I Can't Get Next Yo You" in a slow blues version, as well as The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand", The Doors "Light My Fire", Hank Williams "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry", and Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away". In turn, Green's "Take Me to the River" has received well-known covers by Foreigner and Talking Heads.
- Cradle of Loneliness: His first solo hit "Tired Of Being Alone". Also his cover of Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".
- God-Is-Love Songs: His gospel material is more Christian inspired, none so personified by the song "Trust in God" (1984).
- Gospel Music: From the 1980s he became a gospel artist.
- Let's Duet: "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", with Annie Lennox and "Funny How Time Slips Away" with Lyle Lovett.
- One-Woman Song: "One Woman" takes this trope literally.
- The Power of Love: A lot of his songs are about love, including "Love And Happiness", "Let's Stay Together" and "L-O-V-E (Love)".
- Pun-Based Title: His second album "Green Is Blues".
- Soul: His 1960s and 1970s work, which is also the genre he is best known for.
- Questioning Title?: "What's It All About?", "Have You Been Making Out O.K.?", "What Is This Feeling?", "Are You Lonely For Me Baby?", "What Am I Gonna Do With Myself?"
- Shout-Out: "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" was used in Scrooged (1988) and "Let's Stay Together" on the Cult Soundtrack of Pulp Fiction (1994). "So Glad You're Mine" was sampled on Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city and also referenced in "The Amazing Sounds Of Orgy" from Radiohead's Amnesiac.
- Singer Name Drop: The album titles "Green Is Blues", "Al Green Gets Next To You", "Al Green Explores Your Mind" and "Al Green Is Love" namedrop him.
- Spell My Name with an S: His actual name is "Greene", but he spells it as "Green".
- Train Song: "Back Up Train"I'm a lonely man, need a helding handSo back this train up, that's all you gotta do now
