al green's been a staple on the r b soul and gospel music scenes for decades he's also won
11 grammys been inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame and made rolling stones list of the
100 greatest artists of all time there's so much to say about al's long and illustrious career
but in this video we're going to focus on some of the sad dramatic and tragic events that went on
behind the music american singer songwriter pastor and record producer albert greene
was born on april 13th 1946 in the tiny sharecropping community of dansby arkansas
he began performing around the age of 10 singing gospel music with his family which included nine
siblings even after they moved to grand rapids michigan the green brothers continued touring
on the gospel circuit in 1967 al would release what would be considered his debut album
as a member of a group he formed in high school called al green and the creations later changed
to al greene and the soul mates the album cover would feature the correct spelling of his surname
just before he decided to drop the final e they experienced some success with the title track
but when no other hits followed they disbanded while performing with the soul mates al would
come into contact with a record producer who offered him a solo deal on his label
high records after a move to memphis tennessee work would begin immediately to develop al
into one of the premier soul singers of the seven days al released green is blues in 1969
followed by al green gets next to you two years later his third album would solidify his place in
seoul music let's stay together released in 1972 would feature his biggest hit to date the title
track it reached number one on both the billboard hot 100 and r b charts his success continued with
the follow-up albums i'm still in love with you call me living for you al green explores your mind
and al green is love by the time he released the album the bell album in 1977 however his record
sales had plummeted the year before al became an ordained minister and acquire the full gospel
tabernacle church in memphis where he continues to preach when not on tour throughout the 80s
al released nothing but gospel albums his 1980 album the lord will make away would give him his
first grammy courtesy of the title song for best soul gospel performance traditional al returned
to secular music in 1988 recording put a little love in your heart with annie lennox the song
featured on the soundtrack to the movie scrooge became his first top 10 pop hit since 1974. al
continued releasing albums on a consistent basis throughout the 90s and 2000s with his last today
being 2008 lay it down nothing more was heard from al for nearly a decade in september 2018
he released his latest single his version of the 1975 freddie fender song before the next teardrop
falls now that we're all caught up on al's career accomplishments let's take it back to the
beginning to find out about some of the crazy and intense moments that happened out of public view
despite his father only wanting his children to listen to and perform gospel music al still
managed to develop an early interest in artists like elvis presley fats domino little richard sam
cook and especially jackie wilson the latter would actually cause al to experience living quite the
hard knock life for a period of time as a teen in the 60s when his devoutly religious father
kicked him out of the family home after he caught al listening to the soul singer's 1960 hit a woman
a lover a friend al never did move back in with his family and he also dropped out of high school
a little later he met an older woman who also happened to be a prostitute and began living
with her in her apartment al earned his keep serving as her protector friend and lover in
1974 al would be the victim of a horrific assault and bear witness to a tragic death on october 18th
al's girlfriend mary woodson doused him with a pot of boiling hot grits at his memphis home as
he was preparing to go to bed causing second and third degree burns on multiple areas of his body
although she was already married with several children she became upset when she broached the
subject of the two of them getting hitched and he didn't express any interest in the suggestion
a few moments later al heard gunshots and a thud on the floor coming from one of the bedrooms mary
had fatally shot herself with his handgun police found an apparent suicide note inside her purse
that declared her intentions and her reasons it later emerged that she'd made another
attempt to end her life a few days before by taking sleeping pills and slitting her wrists
in the aftermath of the tragedy some people suggested that al was really
the one that took mary's life others believed that his bodyguards were the real perpetrators
so how did this happen well it all started when al met mary while performing at a prison concert at
new york state correctional facility he revealed in his 2000 autobiography take me to the river
he had no idea that this quote radiant and ravishing woman who said she was visiting a
friend at the prison was really a married mother living in new jersey of course he had asked her
and of course she lied on the same day as the tragic events that would later occur
al was in a recording studio when he got a call from a sheriff who said mary had been arrested
at a hotel for smoking marijuana al smooth things over by going to the police station and mary was
released they went back to the studio so al could calm her down with some tunes before both heading
to his home later in the evening al found mary in the kitchen stirring a pot of simmering water with
a wooden spoon he was caught off guard when she asked al honey have you ever thought of getting
married married he replied maybe we should talk about this in the morning baby he then asked her
what she was cooking she didn't give him an answer instead she wrapped her arms around him kissed him
and then whispered in his ear you know al i would never do anything to hurt you though
puzzled by the comment al proceeded upstairs to shower and get ready to turn in for the night
a few moments later he looked up just in time to see mary's reflection in the mirror holding the
steaming pot in both hands that now contain grits and had formed into a thick paste she hurled it at
him with all her might setting a disastrous chain of events in motion al was rushed to the hospital
where he received a series of skin grafts followed by eight months of convalescence a year before the
incident al had become a born-again christian so he spent much of his recovery reading the bible
and praying even after al was released from the hospital though he still couldn't catch a brag
jet magazine reported that just two days later while he was in his office trying to complete his
employees payroll he was held hostage at gunpoint by a woman identified only as his second cousin
who claimed he owed her money al chose not to discuss the matter publicly and refused
to press charges the following month al's former secretary linda wills filed a 25 000 civil suit
claiming he pushed her through a glass door in his memphis office after a dispute about her
salary he denied her claims stating that she hit him and that they both fell through the glass door
when he tried to push her away after the suit was dropped because of conflicting testimony she later
sued him in federal court for assault and battery seeking 100 000 in damages linda also alleged that
she and al did have a romantic involvement the case was eventually settled out of court and the
details were not made public several years later al got into a physical altercation with his former
organ player larry robinson once again money was at the root of the issue as larry claimed al owed
him for a show in texas they were both arrested and charged with assault in june of the same year
al married his first wife shirley kyles one of his backup singers even though they would
go on to have three daughters things between the couple it seems were never on solid ground shirley
would first fall for divorce before they had even celebrated their one-year anniversary alleging al
brutally beat her she would file again in 1981. he accused her of cruel and inhuman treatment
in a counter-complaint according to shirley they would separate and reconcile several times when
the beatings got out of control initially al denied beating his wife but under oath in 1982
he did admit to striking her their divorce was finalized in 1983. shirley didn't speak openly
about her experience until 1995 when nicole brown simpson's story came to light it inspired her to
go public with the abuse she endured in order to help other victims another abusive episode between
al and a woman took place in 1978 he was arrested and charged with assault and battery for allegedly
beating a woman named lovey smith unconscious with a tree limb the charges were dismissed after she
did not receive a subpoena due to having moved and therefore missed the court date in september 2013
al's sister maxine green was reported missing from her assisted living home in grand rapids
michigan she was 61 years old at the time while official reports indicate maxine's
missing date as august 23rd her family says she went missing sometime between september
6th to 8th since it was around this time that the last confirmed sighting of her took place
she's said to have mental health issues and has struggled with alcohol and drug use over the years
sadly al did not reach out to the family when his sister first went missing and to hasn't publicly
said anything about the case maxine's daughter lasha claims that her mother and al were the
closest among the siblings at one time but later drifted apart as of the making of this video
maxine green is still considered a missing person al celebrated his 76th birthday in april 2022
he's kept a low profile since the pandemic began but hopefully took the opportunity to spend some
quality time with his seven children it's unclear whether or not al has a special lady in his life
since he's been very tight-lipped about that topic of conversation for decades there isn't even any
mention of any of his wives in his biography even though he's reportedly walked down the aisle at
least three times thanks for watching please like share and comment also don't forget to subscribe
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