Albums released in 1971 celebrate their 50th anniversary this year.
Last week we took a deep dive into The Doors, LA Woman and the week before we got into Joni Mitchell's album Blue. So this week, we are celebrating Al Green's 1971 album Gets Next To You.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Al Green’s Al Green Gets Next to You LP
Al Green is often referred to as "The Last of the Great Soul Singers", his success has been huge since releasing his first album in 1967. He’s won 11 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Albert Leornes Greene was born on April 13, 1946, in Forrest City, Arkansas - near the Mississippi river. He was the sixth of ten children and began performing with his brothers in a group called the Greene Brothers at around the age of ten.
Al was kicked out of the family home while in his teens, after his devoutly religious father caught him listening to Jackie Wilson. After He was kicked out of home by his father for listening to modern music, he fell into dark times, he began hustling and started taking drugs.
Gets Next to You is a great introduction to Al Green’s musical catalogue and was without a doubt the beginning of an incredibly prolific run as one of the best voices in rhythm-and-blues.
Gets Next To You (3rd album released in 1971) was the first album that Al green worked with producer Willie Mitchell, who ran Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
One fascinating part of Al Green's career is that after releasing albums throughout the 70s, he decided to turn his life to God, leave the music industry and become a pastor.
Some people say the reason why he turned into a pastor was due to his girlfriend committing suicide, however, it was many reasons - including the rock and roll lifestyle that pushed him to the church.
Green returned to making contemporary music in 1988 recording 'Put a Little Love in Your Heart' with Annie Lennox. released his autobiography, Take Me to the River.
Today At 75 years old, Al Green is still making music
For his 2008 album Lay It Down, instead of working with his old-school Memphis rhythm section, he's teamed up with drummer Questlove of hip-hop outfit The Roots
His song ‘Tired of Being Alone' from Al Green Gets Next to You LP is without the most well known and successful songs.
He recorded the song for an earlier album but production problems meant it had to be held until Gets Next To You. ‘Tired of Being Alone’ has also been covered by Michael Bolton, Tom Jones,
