Al Green, born in Forrest City, Arkansas in 1946, is the American soul singer whose 1970s run at Hi Records with producer Willie Mitchell defined Memphis soul. Let's Stay Together (1972) and Call Me (1973) are the ones to reach for first — that falsetto over those horns never misses. Shop Al Green vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Albert Leornes Greene was born in Forrest City, Arkansas on April 13, 1946. His family relocated to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he sang gospel in church before forming the soul group Al Greene and the Soul Mates in the mid-1960s. His career transformed after he met producer Willie Mitchell of Hi Records in Memphis in 1968. The Mitchell-produced Hi Records albums of the 1970s remain his most celebrated work. Following personal turmoil in the mid-1970s, Green moved into gospel recording in 1980 and was ordained as a minister. He has continued recording across both secular and gospel material.
Al Green's recordings with Willie Mitchell are defined by the Memphis soul aesthetic of the Hi Records house band: relaxed grooves, horn arrangements by the Memphis Strings & Horns, and Green's distinctive falsetto and conversational phrasing. His later gospel recordings retain his vocal style within a sacred music context.
Original Hi Records pressings of the early-to-mid 1970s catalog are among the most sought-after items in soul collecting. The Hi catalog has been extensively reissued by labels including Right Stuff, Fat Possum, and others, with multiple anniversary editions.
Listeners new to Al Green typically start with Let's Stay Together (1972) or Call Me (1973). The compilation Greatest Hits is also a common entry point.
