Al Green (musician)

:For the Democratic Congressman from Texas and the former head of the Houston NAACP, please see Al Green.

Tragedy

On October 18, 1974, Green's girlfriend, Mary Woodson, poured boiling grits on him as he was showering, causing second-degree burns on his back, stomach and arm. She then killed herself in an adjacent bedroom. Deeply shaken by the event, Green converted to Christianity and became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976. Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip and the critics grew steadily harsher. 1977's The Belle Album was critically acclaimed but did not regain his former mass audience. In 1979, Green was injured while performing and interpreted this accident as a message from God. He then concentrated his energies towards pastoring his church and gospel singing, also appearing in 1982 with Patti Labelle in the musical Your Arms Too Short to Box With God. His first gospel album was The Lord Will Make a Way. From 1981 to 1989 Green recorded a series of gospel recordings, garnering eight "soul gospel performance" Grammys in that period. In 1984 director Robert Mugge released a documentary film, The Gospel According to Al Green, including interviews about his life and footage from his church.

Related Topics:
October 18 - 1974 - Second-degree burn - Christianity - 1976 - 1977 - 1979 - God - 1982 - Patti Labelle - Grammy

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