Happy 65th Birthday to the Rev. Al....

    The tension between the gospel music and worldly lyrics is one of the things that make R&B so appealing. Most all of the performers in this genre cut their teeth in the church and in the case of Al Green, his musical education began in a gospel quartet with his family called The Greene Brothers (He dropped the "e" when he began a solo career). His father kicked him our of the group with little Al was caught listening to Jackie Wilson records.....

     He won fame in the early 70's with a collection of songs that was some of the smoothest and sexiest sounds of that era...with that came all of the trappings (secular ones that is...) that being a popular young singer brings. An incident where a girlfriend assaulted him (with a pot of boiling grits no less...) and then committed suicide contributed to a reassessment of his life. This led him back to the church and in 1976 he became an ordained minster of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis TN, which he remains to this day. From 1981 to 89, he released a series of critically acclaimed gospel albums, and now records in both genres.   He continues to record quality music, both sacred and secular, and today the Bus wishes the Rev. Al Green a happy 65th birthday....