Concept

Al Green

Summary
Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), known professionally as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including "Take Me to the River", "Tired of Being Alone", "I'm Still in Love with You", "Love and Happiness", and his signature song, "Let's Stay Together". After his girlfriend died by suicide, Green became an ordained pastor and turned to gospel music. He later returned to secular music. Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. He was referred to on the museum's site as being "one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music". He has also been referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers". Green is the winner of 11 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the BMI Icon award and is a Kennedy Center Honors recipient. He was included in the Rolling Stone list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, ranking at No. 65, as well as its list of the 100 Greatest Singers, at No. 14. Albert Leornes Greene was born on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas, as the sixth of ten children born to Cora Lee and sharecropper Robert G. Greene, Jr. At around the age of ten, Al began performing with his sister in a group called the Greene Brothers. During the late 1950s, the Greene family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan. While still a teenager, Al was kicked out of the family home after his devoutly religious father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson. He then lived with a prostitute, began hustling, and indulged in recreational drugs. "[I listened to] Mahalia Jackson, all the great gospel singers. But the most important music to me was those hip-shakin' boys: Wilson Pickett and Elvis Presley. When I was 13, I just loved Elvis Presley. Whatever he got, I went out and bought." In high school, Al formed a vocal group called Al Greene & the Creations. Two of the group's members, Curtis Rodgers and Palmer James, formed an independent label called Hot Line Music Journal.
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