At the height of his fame and with the voice of God whispering in his ear, Al Green stepped away from the music world. He was off to start a Church in Memphis.

Looking back, this is no surprise. Born in Arkansas, 1946 – Al was brought up in a devout family and started out singing gospel with a few of his nine siblings as part of the Green Brothers. He would later take the power and grace of the gospel, subverting it into the raw sexuality that embodied the newly emerging genre of soul.

Many hard slogs on the road eventually saw Al’s discovery by Memphis bandleader Willie Mitchell. The two of them together would go onto big things. Willie helped produce the like of Take Me to the River and Let’s Stay Together. Fame and fortune followed, but it all eventually became too much for Al, who, after a few signs, renounced it all in 1979. 

Of course, the world could never really be parted from the good Reverend’s voice. He’s still using that God given gift and, though the some of the subject matter may have changed a little, today this soulful holy man has found a wonderful middle ground between popular and inspirational music.