Grammy Winner The Reverend Al Green will return to his R & B roots at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on July 2, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 8 at noon.
The Reverend Al Green is known the world over for his extraordinary voice, his unmistakable sound and his legendary hits. In the early 1970s, Green carved his place in music history with a run of celebrated hits including “Tired of Being Alone,” “Let’s Stay Together,” “I Can’t Get Next to You,” “I’m Still in Love With You,” “Call Me,” “Here I Am,” “Let’s Get Married” and “Love and Happiness,” that made him not just an R&B star but a pop icon.
Green started singing professionally at age nine, when he and his brothers formed a gospel quartet, the Greene Brothers, in their hometown of Forest City, Arkansas. They toured the gospel circuits in the South, and then began performing around Michigan when the family relocated to Grand Rapids. At 16, Green formed a pop group, Al Greene and the Creations, with high school friends, and they released a single, “Back Up Train,” in 1967 (under the new name Al Greene and the Soul Mates) that went to #5 on the national R&B chart.
In 1969, Green teamed-up with producer Willie Mitchell — a renowned bandleader, arranger and trumpeter—who hired the young singer to front his band. (Green dropped the final “e” from his surname when he went solo.) An impressed Mitchell signed Green with the duo going on to shape a sound that defined its own place in pop and R&B music. They recorded eight albums that sold over 20 million copies worldwide, working together until 1976.
From 1976 to 1985, Green concentrated on gospel music. He’s won eight Grammys in gospel categories and was nominated for many more over the years. Green still leads his Baptist congregation, the Full Gospel Tabernacle, in Memphis, TN.
More recent releases include the Blue Note, Willie Mitchell-produced I Can’t Stop and Everything’s OK. Another Blue Note release, the Questlove-produced Lay It Down (2009), garnered Green two additional Grammys.
Today, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is still thrilling audiences with his remarkable voice and sensuous grooves.
Tickets are $49, $59, $69 and $79*; all seats are reserved and available at all Ticketmaster outlets online at www.ticketmaster.com or charge by phone: 1-800-745-3000. Doors open one-hour prior to show start time. *Additional fees may apply