Willie Mitchell signed Al Green to Hi Records in 1969. The first gold single of Green’s career was released two years later, selling a million copies. The door to success was open.
Al Green 1973
Publicity Photo: Mike Douglas Show (Wikimedia Commons)
Al Green’s voice set him apart from his contemporaries in both Soul and Pop fields. He was blessed with a tenor voice which lent to each composition a soulful, melodic, soft-edged falsetto delivery, complemented by the flowing organ sounds of Charles Hodges and the unique drumming style of Al Jackson Jr. on tracks such as “Call Me (Come Back Home)”, “I’m Still In Love With You” and “Love And Happiness”. Another fascinating track is “Here I am (Come And Take Me)” with its heavy drum beat and horns response throughout the entire track, graced with the wonderful vocal backing of Rhodes, Chalmers and Rhodes and with excellent string arrangements by James Mitchell and Charles Chalmers. Out of this powerful collaboration came eight gold singles and ten gold, platinum, and multi-platinum albums over a period of twenty-five to thirty years.
Al Green had six consecutive number one studio albums on the Billboard Top Black Albums Chart from 1972 to 1975, with five of these studio albums becoming gold-certified according to the RIAA. The distinctive organ playing of Charles Hodges, the drumming techniques of Al Jackson Jr. with the assistance of Howard Grimes, and Mabon “Teenie” Hodges on guitar make an unstoppable and winning team overall.
Every album and single that came out of Royal Studios was engineered and re-mixed by Willie Mitchell. He was one of the most talented technicians in the recording industry.
“Let’s Stay Together” was the first gold album of Al Green’s career. It features Al Jackson Jr. on drums. Jackson actually co-wrote the title track with Green. The single became a runaway monster hit, making number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart, 12th February 1972 (1 week), and on the Billboard Best Soul Singles Chart, 8th January, 1972 (9 weeks). The album was also number one on the Billboard Top Soul Albums Chart for over ten weeks, starting week-ending 18th March 1972.
“I’m Still in Love with You” was Al Green’s second gold album, also released in 1972. The album produced a monster hit single with the title track, “I’m Still in Love With You”, which was also a gold-certified classic hit, selling one million plus copies. Jackson Jr. again co-wrote the track with Green and Willie Mitchell who produced the entire studio album. The recording project became Green’s first platinum-certified album, for over one million copies sold in America, according to the RIAA. The album closed off 1972 at the top of the chart on the Billboard Top Soul Albums Chart, week-ending 2nd December 1972 (5 weeks).
The title track also made it to number one, week-ending 12th August 1972 (1 week). The two studio albums stayed at number one for a total of fifteen weeks in 1972. “Call Me” was Green’s sixth studio album and a masterpiece according to many music industry critics. The producers and composers on the album produced three gold singles from “Call Me”.
The first single from the album “You Ought To Be With Me” was released in April 1973. It was co-written by Al Jackson Jr., Al Green and Willie Mitchell, the main producer and sound engineer. The song sold over one million copies and was certified gold by the RIAA. “You Ought To Be With Me” also reached the top of the Billboard Best Soul Singles Chart, week-ending December 2nd 1972 (1week). Hi records released the second gold single “Call Me (Come Back Home)” on 30th January 1973. It peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart and number two on the Billboard Best Soul Singles Chart. This recording was also co-written by Al Jackson Jr. with Al Green and Willie Mitchell. “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” is the third and final track released as a single to be a gold-certified hit. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Best Soul Singles Chart listing and at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart. This track was not co-written by Al Jackson but instead by Teenie Hodges, a member of Willie Mitchell’s Hi Records studio band who collaborated with Al Green to compose the track.
In 1976, Green established the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis, where he preached regularly, not far from Graceland. Sadly, by 1977, the tide had turned. Green’s 1977 and 1978 albums did not sell well, and he decided to concentrate on more spiritual things, releasing a series of Gospel albums between 1981 and 1989. At the end of that period, he returned to secular music.
