The bad Al Green is not to be confused with the great Al Green. The great Al Green is a soul singer who charted a new path in the music with producer Willie Mitchell in the 1970s. He turned to preaching at the height of his popularity in 1976 when he bought the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis and became an ordained minister. It was a turn that inspired Marc Cohn to incorporate him in “Walking In Memphis.” Cohn assured us that “Reverend Green be glad to see you when you haven’t got a prayer.”
Peter Gurlalnick devotes four delirious pages to Green in Sweet Soul Music. This parenthetical quote from Guralnick’s book should find its place among us today:
“What makes you think you can use the name Al Green?” Al Green said to me one time, in a lilting West Indian accent. “Al Green is a registered trademark.”
The great Al Green turned in a memorable live performance of “Let’s Stay Together” on an anniversary edition of the Late Night show with an all-star band recruited by music director Paul Shaffer. Green was joined by Toni Childs on the vocal. In addition to the Late Night regulars the band included the Tower of Power horn section plus David Sanborn on sax, Carlos Santana on guitar, Tito Puente on timbales, McCoy Tyner on piano, and a chorus of Darlene Love, Patti Austin, and Melissa Etheridge. What a crew. If you enjoy popular music, you might find this a joyous blast.
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