We play requests at Six String Sanctuary. A reader asked about the Al Green video mentioned in the previous blog so we dutifully oblige. (The hyperlink function isn't working this morning so click on the link below:)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrgSBGP5bi0
With a bandana sling holding up his right arm (reportedly injured in a mishap in Milwaukee) and a long-stemmed rose in his left, Green was at his seductive best during a Soul Train appearance in 1974. He would score six No. 1 hits on the R&B charts during this soul-charged period, but the song performed here "Come and Get Me (Take Me By the Hand)" was a near-miss at No. 2.
Before long Green's career and life would take a dramatic shift. After a girlfriend dumped boiling grits on him while he was showering and then killed herself with his gun, Green would turn from pop to gospel. Which really wasn't much of a turn for him. He once told an interviewer: "I was raised on gospel. It was put into my cornbread. I ate it."
There's a great photo slideshow on his website: http://www.algreenmusic.com/photogallery.html
Athough Green still tours, his main gig is serving as pastor of the Full Tabernacle Church in Memphis. Now there's a church service we'd love to attend.
His producer Willie Mitchell passed away a few weeks ago, there's a lot of great history in some of the obituaries. Here's one:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/willie-mitchell-memphisbased-producer-arranger-and-songwriter-for-al-green-ann-peebles-and-wet-wet-wet-1861135.html
I'd love to go to Al's church too, but there's a flip side to being around such an amazing voice for those in the pews. A few years back, Emmylou Harris started showing up at my folks' church in Nashville. Apparently no one in the nearby rows would do much singing during the hymns. I know I wouldn't, with a voice that heavenly in my midst.
ReplyDelete