Al Green Twofer

He’s a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and is adept at both soul and gospel music – Al Green. Last week when I was contemplating a label to feature, Hi Records out of Memphis was on my radar; however, because of the lack of depth of the label, I was unable to come up with a satisfactory list of seven records that I hadn’t already featured.

I had already featured numbers by Al Green, Ann Peebles, Syl Johnson, and a few others – so I was strapped on what I could select. Since Al Green had 14 Top 40 releases, his material was still untapped and there were several of his tunes that I hadn’t already discussed in the past. So for this Twofer Tuesday, I present two selections from Al Green.

Tired of Being Alone

Although “Tired of Being Alone” only peaked at 11 on the pop charts, it was a Top 10 R&B record and Al Green’s first gold single. In addition while some of his previous recordings were R&B hits, it took 10 singles for Green to make it into the Top 40.

The 1971 version was actually the second version of “Tired of Being Alone” to be recorded by Hi. Green had recorded it in 1969 and had intended to release it at that time; however, some problems in the recording process caused the 1969 version to be shelved and to never see the light of day

I’m Still In Love With You

Four singles later, Al Green had his second #1 soul hit with 1972’s “I’m Still in Love with You.” It also was a #3 hit record on the Hot 100 and received enough Adult Contemporary airplay to chart at #33.

It was Green’s second of his four triple crossovers. The others were “Let’s Stay Together,” “You Ought to be with Me,” and “Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy).” Al Green helped define soul music in the 70s and his music should be required listening of everyone.