He’s been called the voice of soul music, responsible for a string of classic R&B hits that have become American classics, selling more than 20 million records worldwide, and earning nine Grammy Awards and an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Al Green dominated the airwaves during the 1970s, the master of velvet romantic compositions crafted with a rhythmic sway and heart-stirring falsetto. His latest recording, Lay It Down (scheduled for release May 27), proves that he hasn’t lost his magic touch: The recording, produced by Roots drummer Ahmir “?uestlove” Thompson, features down-and-dirty grooves, spot-on songwriting, and star cameos by the likes of Corrine Bailey Ray, John Legend, and Anthony Hamilton (who have followed a path established by Green some 30 years ago).

Whether an Al Green song can carry you back to a tender memory (“Let’s Stay Together” our hearts be still) or if you are simply a connoisseur classic soul music, Green’s soundtrack of 1970’s soul, R&B, and crossover hits are unparalleled. The Santa Cruz Blues Festival is extremely honored to host this incomparable musical legend as our Sunday headliner in his first local performance.

Green started on his star trajectory early on; at age 9 in Forest City, Arkansas, he sang with a family gospel quartet, The Greene Brothers. (He later dropped the “e” from his last name.) Moving to Grand Rapids, Michigan, as a teen, Green fronted a high-school pop band that found surprise success with the 1967 R&B hit “Back Up Train.” It wasn’t long before he was making a name for himself as an in-demand vocalist. Playing a gig in Texas he met renowned bandleader Willie Mitchell, who recognized an extraordinary talent in the young singer. Mitchell proposed that Green to come to Memphis where he would make him a star. He meant it. Within a year this dynamic duo, with Mitchell and Green collaborating on most of the songwriting, launched a run of eight celebrated albums and hit songs that painted a backdrop of romantic soul music for a generation.

Green’s first gold single, “Tired of Being Alone,” catapulted Green into the national spotlight. Others followed in swift secession: “Let’s Stay Together” (1971); “Look What You Done for Me,” “I’m Still in Love With You,” and “You Ought to Be With Me” (1972); “Call Me (Come Back Home)” and “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” (1973); “Sha La La (Make Me Happy)” (1974); and “L-O-V-E (Love)” (1975).

Securely established in the American musical cannon, over the next decade Green experimented with different genres, including performing in a Broadway musical and releasing some acclaimed gospel recordings. Then, in 1994, he recorded a timeless rendition with Lyle Lovett of Willie Nelson’s “Funny How Time Slips Away” for Rhythm, Country, and Blues, which netted another Grammy Award. In a fitting tribute to his contributions to contemporary popular music, in 1995, Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

At the turn of the millennium, Green found himself back in the studio returning to his roots. Don’t Look Back and Truth and Time showed that the singer had retained his soul chops. But it was his debut album on the Blue Note label, 2003’s I Can’t Stop, which reunited Green with his original collaborator Willie Mitchell (the album was recorded in the same studio and with many of the same musicians from Green’s earlier recordings), that reminded audiences that the Al Green can still make grown men and women swoon. And now, paired with Thompson, and backed by members of Amy Winehouse’s band, Green ventures into new territory. The recording could be his best project in years.

Appearing for the first time at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival, Al Green promises a musical journey into the kind of soul-satisfying R&B that only he can deliver.

back to the lineup...