Today's Birthday April 13: US singer Al Green (1946-).
Popular 1970s R&B and soul singer Al Green is best known for his song Let's Stay Together.
Born Albert Greene on April 13, 1946, on a farm in Arkansas, he performed and toured gospel music with his family from a young age.
After being kicked out of his family home for listening to secular music, Green formed the soul group Al Greene and the Soul Mates in 1964.
They released the R&B hit Back Up Train, but succeeding singles were less popular and Green decided to go solo.
In 1969, he released his debut album Green Is Blues, followed by successful albums including Al Green Gets Next To You (1970), Let's Stay Together (1972), Call Me (1973) and Truth 'N' Time (1978).
While at the peak of his career, Green's personal life was rocked in 1974 when his girlfriend burst into his bathroom, threw boiling grits at him and shot herself dead with his gun.
The burns Green sustained during the assault put him in hospital for weeks.
Green had become a born again Christian the year before and became an ordained pastor in 1976.
His R&B sales dropped and he turned towards gospel music, releasing The Lord Will Make a Way in 1980.
During the 1980s, Green won eight soul gospel performance Grammys.
After spending several years exclusively performing gospel, Green returned to R&B with the album Don't Look Back in 1994.
The same year, his duet with country music singer Lyle Lovett won him his ninth Grammy.
In 2002, Green received a Grammy lifetime achievement award.
His latest album, Lay It Down, was released in 2008.
