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Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green
Narrative biography of tortured soul singer Al Green by the author of Shakey: Neil Young's Story
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First published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
May 3, 2019
I had to read this for my book challenge, subject book on a musician. Wish I chose another musician didn’t find this musician story interesting more like reality TV drama.
February 13, 2021
Some interesting info here. Lots of naming who was in the room, what are they playing or offering to the industry and some side stories of home life. Was interesting but didn't blow me away.
December 18, 2020
The book starts with the death of Mary Woodson in Al Green's bedroom by a gunshot to the head. A death ruled a suicide that is disputed to this day by some. The Al Green of records is one of a vulnerable loving man. Interviews with many of the musicians who worked with Mr Green over the years say he was a greedy son of a bitch who sometimes refused to pay his band. To those who attend his church services he is a man of God. So who is Mr Green - according to Mr McDonough he is all of these people and more. Mr McDonough has written many biographies of musicians and other artists, usually with the cooperation of the subject. Not so in the project, as he could not secure an interview with Mr Green. Instead he dug into the archives - what has been recorded in interviews over Mr Green's career, as well as interviews with many of those associated with Mr Green as well as the one autobiography which was actually written by Davin Seay. Al Green had a 6 year run of massive deep soul hits in the early to mid 70's. A time when R&B music was inching closer to disco, Mr Green with his musical partner Willie Mitchell stuck with the same musical formula and rode it out until it ended with Mr Green turning to producing Gospel music where he continued his musical career as well as establishing a church in Memphis not far from Graceland, the secular church of R&R. There is nothing deep about the Green oeuvre - the lyrics about romantic love are rather simple and repetitive. However the overall sound captures you with the emotion. the author points out that Mr Green was lazy at times when recording, with many album tracks lacking in that same emotion, which yet when performed live those same songs carry an emotional punch lacking on the recordings. There are conflicting stories about how Al Green got 'discovered' but all agree that the 18 year old Mr Green sang at a club where some of the Hi musicians and Mr Mitchell in attendance and they all were taken by his performance. Mr Mitchell told Al to come see him in Memphis telling him he could be a star in 18 months. Al Green replied he didn't have that much time, the cockiness of Mr Green impressing Mr Mitchell. Al walked away, only to return asking, really, 18 months? It took a little longer than 18 months, but Willie Mitchell stuck with the singer and the rest is history. One telling incident is later in Mr Green's career, when he appeared on Broadway opposite Patti LaBelle in "Your Arms Too Short to Box with God". Patti's sister was dying of cancer and wanted to go see her, meaning she would have to miss a matinee performance. Everyone understood and was ok with it, everyone except one person: the Reverend Al Green (he was a minister by this point). "He wanted to know what was so critical about my sister that I had to go home when we had a show to do and leave him carrying the burden." she said. According to another cast member present he then said, "Well, Ms LaBelle, we didn't make your sister sick." Many former band members have criticized Mr Green for cheating them out of the paydays, and yet some saying this continued to work for him. There are stories of former band members being down and out, and Mr Green arriving with bags full of cash to pay their bills. And so it goes. As you can see Mr Green had many, many sides and those that worked with him never knew which was going to show up when they gathered. One more aside about his church - a sign in front says all are welcome, yet the Gay community have testified that all are welcome except their community. Mr Green has left behind a treasure trove of classics of soul music - often imitated but never eclipsed. One can love the music without really knowing the true Al Green.
June 5, 2018
A superb biography of one of the greatest soul singers and live performers of all time.The one thing people seem to pick up on upon reading this book is that Green was not a nice man.....he was violent to woman,arrogant,mean,jealous,selfish and unbelievably tight with his money.However despite reports to the contrary,that isn't the crux of the book......he was complex to the nth degree:eccentric,compulsive,obsessive,charismatic and yet also capable of great kindness and like most mega stars,also a victim of his own success and the pitfalls it itself brings.
The book manages to cleverly balance the darkness of Al with the wonderful positivity of the Hi Records story and the bit part players who to greater or lesser degrees helped Al Green become the success he becameor were themselves undersung heroes of American soul music:the Hodges Brothers,Al Jackson,Howard Grimes,Ann Peebles,O.V Wright,Syl Johnson and of course the absolute genius of Willie Mitchell.
Some biographers are so in love with their subjects they're to scared of saying anything bad about them.....some seem to relish in their sub-tabloid decimation of their subjects;fortunately Mcdonough largely manages to stay somewhere inbetween. He gives credit where it's due and is obviously a huge fan of the records but he never shies away from Al's dark side and the book would be infinitely more boring without page after page of the crazy world of Al Green.
It's a skill to be able to discuss music in prose with any interest or depth and Mcdonough does an excellent job;he goes into detail about many of the greatest songs and discusses how they were recorded,who played on them,what the lyrical inspiration might have been,etc,etc.
Above all he does what every music biography should do....if you don't know the records,it forces you to seek them out and if you are a long time fan you are compelled to go back and revel in their glory.
The book manages to cleverly balance the darkness of Al with the wonderful positivity of the Hi Records story and the bit part players who to greater or lesser degrees helped Al Green become the success he becameor were themselves undersung heroes of American soul music:the Hodges Brothers,Al Jackson,Howard Grimes,Ann Peebles,O.V Wright,Syl Johnson and of course the absolute genius of Willie Mitchell.
Some biographers are so in love with their subjects they're to scared of saying anything bad about them.....some seem to relish in their sub-tabloid decimation of their subjects;fortunately Mcdonough largely manages to stay somewhere inbetween. He gives credit where it's due and is obviously a huge fan of the records but he never shies away from Al's dark side and the book would be infinitely more boring without page after page of the crazy world of Al Green.
It's a skill to be able to discuss music in prose with any interest or depth and Mcdonough does an excellent job;he goes into detail about many of the greatest songs and discusses how they were recorded,who played on them,what the lyrical inspiration might have been,etc,etc.
Above all he does what every music biography should do....if you don't know the records,it forces you to seek them out and if you are a long time fan you are compelled to go back and revel in their glory.
November 21, 2017
Full review will be in R'N'R magazine (UK) January 2018. Can we forgive Al's puzzling, cruel treatment of people since he recorded all those seminal Hi Records tracks with Willie Mitchell?
August 16, 2020
Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil Young, Shakey, is one of my favorite books about music. Unlike that book, in which McDonough became a collaborator and sparring partner with Young and had hundreds of hours of access to the man himself, Soul Survivor sees the author try to present an account of the subject without any cooperation from Green. It's an equally fascinating and much stranger story. Green remains as inscrutable, private, contradictory, baffling, and deliberately unknowable as ever (and he intentionally tells conflicting stories to interviewers to keep people from knowing much about him, a practice that made his ghostwritten-without-much-input-from-Green 2000 autobiography almost completely unreliable), so McDonough's book instead becomes the biography of the people who had to deal with Al Green (or Al Greens -- most musicians, producers, employees, romantic partners, family members, and acquaintances say he has at least three distinct personalities: Al, Albert, and Reverend Al) in personal or professional capacities. In telling Al Green's story, McDonough also tells the story of Hi Records, Royal Studios, producer/studio co-owner Willie Mitchell, the Hi Rhythm musicians, and the Memphis R&B and gospel music scenes. (As a drummer, I especially appreciated all the drum talk about Al Jackson Jr. and Howard "Bulldog" Grimes' contributions to Green's classic '70s albums.) This is not a flattering portrayal of Green, to put it mildly, but McDonough and several of his interview subjects have empathy for how the singer became such an isolated, cruel, and paranoid person, and his talent and contributions to music are given the respect and admiration they deserve. McDonough doesn't write generic biographies. Soul Survivor is a dark, funny, disturbing, fascinating, and deeply strange attempt to know an unknowable human being.
A closing story about my two degrees of separation from Al Green: When my wife was in grad school, one of her colleagues did some volunteer work for a music festival. One of her duties was to pick up Al Green from the airport. She told my wife that she was very excited to meet Green but found the experience of interacting with him strange and disturbing and said he made very little sense. I was always a little confused by that story (and I wish I had more details), but after reading this biography, my confusion is gone. No one has a normal experience with Al Green (not even his cashier at Burger King, according to one of the many oddball anecdotes contained in the book).
A closing story about my two degrees of separation from Al Green: When my wife was in grad school, one of her colleagues did some volunteer work for a music festival. One of her duties was to pick up Al Green from the airport. She told my wife that she was very excited to meet Green but found the experience of interacting with him strange and disturbing and said he made very little sense. I was always a little confused by that story (and I wish I had more details), but after reading this biography, my confusion is gone. No one has a normal experience with Al Green (not even his cashier at Burger King, according to one of the many oddball anecdotes contained in the book).
December 28, 2018
I think this one's better than Al Green's autobiography, which McDonough says he didn't even write or have much to do with himself. But it seems like it lost some steam or focus in the last few chapters, after Green's recording of the Belle album and his beginning ministry at his church in Memphis. I don't know if that's because Green became increasingly secretive and so there's less for McDonough to write about and explore other than the details of his latter-day recordings and legal problems, or if McDonough isn't as interested in gospel Al as he is in soul Al.
There are also a lot of typos in the copy I read (a first edition from the local library), as well as at least one glaring factual inaccuracy. McDonough gets Al Green's induction in February 1995 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mixed up with a September 1995 concert for the Hall of Fame to celebrate its official opening. He writes about them as if they were the same event/ceremony, and implies Aretha Franklin inducted Al by forcing him to sing one of her own songs at the last minute (which happened at the concert in Sept.), when it was Natalie Cole who inducted Green to the Hall of Fame. (It is an interesting and amusing tidbit about Franklin though.) This error made me wonder what other inaccuracies might be peppered throughout the book, which otherwise appeared well-researched.
I enjoyed reading about the early days at Hi Records and learning about other soul singers like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles and producer Willie Mitchell. McDonough writes with genuine adoration of the music and musicians, singers, and producers he likes. Sometimes I thought he inserted himself a bit too much into the book -- other times, not enough.
There are also a lot of typos in the copy I read (a first edition from the local library), as well as at least one glaring factual inaccuracy. McDonough gets Al Green's induction in February 1995 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mixed up with a September 1995 concert for the Hall of Fame to celebrate its official opening. He writes about them as if they were the same event/ceremony, and implies Aretha Franklin inducted Al by forcing him to sing one of her own songs at the last minute (which happened at the concert in Sept.), when it was Natalie Cole who inducted Green to the Hall of Fame. (It is an interesting and amusing tidbit about Franklin though.) This error made me wonder what other inaccuracies might be peppered throughout the book, which otherwise appeared well-researched.
I enjoyed reading about the early days at Hi Records and learning about other soul singers like O.V. Wright and Ann Peebles and producer Willie Mitchell. McDonough writes with genuine adoration of the music and musicians, singers, and producers he likes. Sometimes I thought he inserted himself a bit too much into the book -- other times, not enough.
August 9, 2018
Ouch! That's the sound of your image of your idol taking a heavy punch. I love Al Green's music. Ever since I first heard Let's Stay Together way back when in highschool in Kentucky. I've collected most of his albums (certainly all the greats from the 1970s) and seen him twice in concert (at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the Palais in Melbourne). It's not hard to agree with the critics that his voice is one of THE most sexy, unique and attractive in all of human history (or at least the history of R&B; which is still quite a history).
I grabbed this book the day I found it and read in over the last week. It gets 4.5 stars for me because a) I learned a lot about Willlie Mitchell and the Hi Records sound which was the magic carpet that got Al to soar b) I learned a lot about Al. And to be honest, a lot of it was NOT nice. Yes, he's one of the loveliest romantic singers in the world but he treated women like shit. Almost everybody actually. Yes, he was and is a bishop of the Church but man could he 'sin' and c)it introduced me to the genius of the man who often lived and worked from a zone NO ONE else could understand or approach, who could make the crappiest music one day and on the spur of the moment create inspired classics the next.
The only reason I withhold half a star is there is no mention of Al's great live album Live...Tokyo which is among his best albums.
If you love his music you have to read this book. Yes, it may disappoint you, even anger you. He was and is no saint. He was/is a big sinner. But then again, which one of our heroes isn't? Which one of us isn't? The only difference is he wrote Love and Happiness. We didnt'!
I grabbed this book the day I found it and read in over the last week. It gets 4.5 stars for me because a) I learned a lot about Willlie Mitchell and the Hi Records sound which was the magic carpet that got Al to soar b) I learned a lot about Al. And to be honest, a lot of it was NOT nice. Yes, he's one of the loveliest romantic singers in the world but he treated women like shit. Almost everybody actually. Yes, he was and is a bishop of the Church but man could he 'sin' and c)it introduced me to the genius of the man who often lived and worked from a zone NO ONE else could understand or approach, who could make the crappiest music one day and on the spur of the moment create inspired classics the next.
The only reason I withhold half a star is there is no mention of Al's great live album Live...Tokyo which is among his best albums.
If you love his music you have to read this book. Yes, it may disappoint you, even anger you. He was and is no saint. He was/is a big sinner. But then again, which one of our heroes isn't? Which one of us isn't? The only difference is he wrote Love and Happiness. We didnt'!
January 13, 2018
I've been a die-hard fan of Al Green since I was a kid. I once owned all of his albums from the '70s - including his iconic Greatest Hits and the classic Belle Album - and most of his Gospel albums from the '80s and '90s. I even visited his church in Memphis when I was a teenager. So when I heard about this biography, you can imagine my excitement.
After reading this, I can say the book lived up to my expectations. Soul Survivor is an exhaustive and exhausting account of not just possibly the greatest soul singer of our generation, but also the recording studio, the music label, the band and the producer who helped turn Al Green into a superstar and living legend. This is the definitive story on Al Green, Willie Mitchell and Hi Records.
The book gets off to a slow start as McDonough meticulously sets the scene and introduces all the supporting players before Green takes center stage about 100 pages in. It's impossible to keep track of all the names or stories that McDonough throws at you, but that doesn't detract from the overall narrative much. However, all these details could discourage a casual fan. Once Green enters the picture, the book really takes off as it documents Green's meteoric rise to stardom, his tortured struggle between the spiritual and secular and his abusive treatment of musicians. I loved how the book concluded with first-hand accounts of Al's church services. Although I only visited once, I'll always remember his spooky, rambling stream of consciousness from the pulpit. I would have never guessed his style hadn't changed in over 20 years.
After reading this, I can say the book lived up to my expectations. Soul Survivor is an exhaustive and exhausting account of not just possibly the greatest soul singer of our generation, but also the recording studio, the music label, the band and the producer who helped turn Al Green into a superstar and living legend. This is the definitive story on Al Green, Willie Mitchell and Hi Records.
The book gets off to a slow start as McDonough meticulously sets the scene and introduces all the supporting players before Green takes center stage about 100 pages in. It's impossible to keep track of all the names or stories that McDonough throws at you, but that doesn't detract from the overall narrative much. However, all these details could discourage a casual fan. Once Green enters the picture, the book really takes off as it documents Green's meteoric rise to stardom, his tortured struggle between the spiritual and secular and his abusive treatment of musicians. I loved how the book concluded with first-hand accounts of Al's church services. Although I only visited once, I'll always remember his spooky, rambling stream of consciousness from the pulpit. I would have never guessed his style hadn't changed in over 20 years.
December 14, 2017
This book is carefully and thoroughly researched and well-organized. The author gives those readers who are Al Green aficionados a glimpse of the man behind the music. The fact that some information is scarce or incomplete is blamed on the subject's enigmatic personality, which the reader can better understand after reading his story.
I'd give the book a four or a five if I was seriously in need of the smallest details of the music industry and its members that played roles in Green's evolution throughout his career. Although I was a huge fan of his music in the 70s, I didn't need to know all the history of his musical journey.
McDonough has gifted the music industry and diehard music music historians with everything needed to put together the pieces of the Al Green puzzle.
It is interesting to note that the Reverend Green is yet one more example of a celebrity who just wanted to live life on his own terms. Whether one approves of how he went about it is irrelevant; I give him props for being true to his self and living the remainder of his life on his own terms.
I'd give the book a four or a five if I was seriously in need of the smallest details of the music industry and its members that played roles in Green's evolution throughout his career. Although I was a huge fan of his music in the 70s, I didn't need to know all the history of his musical journey.
McDonough has gifted the music industry and diehard music music historians with everything needed to put together the pieces of the Al Green puzzle.
It is interesting to note that the Reverend Green is yet one more example of a celebrity who just wanted to live life on his own terms. Whether one approves of how he went about it is irrelevant; I give him props for being true to his self and living the remainder of his life on his own terms.
August 12, 2020
Fascinating book about one of the greatest soul singers of all time, and a thoroughly unpleasant character. McDonough pulls no punches, although he is careful to be clear when it is his own opinion, as opposed to facts gleaned from an extensive array of sources.
Reuben Fairfax Jr, one of those sources and a key one, was the one who first showed me this book. It was when I was in his Memphis taxi a couple of years ago.
Reuben's copy had every mention of him highlighted in fluoroescent yellow, quite rightly celebrating his part in the whole story.
Reuben Fairfax Jr, one of those sources and a key one, was the one who first showed me this book. It was when I was in his Memphis taxi a couple of years ago.
After leaving Al Green, Reuben had done a stint in Albert King's band, and had now branched out into producing (and driving a cab on the side).
Reuben's copy had every mention of him highlighted in fluoroescent yellow, quite rightly celebrating his part in the whole story.
June 6, 2019
Al Green is someone who makes for an extraordinary challenge for any biographer to pull off, and Jimmy McDonough does it here with style. While McDonaugh is clear that Green is not the greatest subject in of himself, we also get familiarized with the various worlds he inhabits from the Hi Records team to his ministry and others who have been in relationships with Green both professionally and not. The sharp critical eye McDonaugh possesses is both insightful and sometimes hilarious. The end portrait we get is fascinating and mysterious, with all the exciting highs and lows one hears in Green's best music.
October 14, 2017
McDonough keeps his stylistic tics under contro for the most part in this, the first major attempt at a definitive Green bio. The account of the development and glory years of Hi Records and the Hi Rhythm Band is fabulous, full of insightful and often hilarious stories. The last third of the book, examining Green's gospel years, brings storms with it--storms we are all to familiar with today. Recommend, and likely as good as it's going to get unless Al becomes, shall we say, more forthcoming (and it might be hard to tell even if he does).
May 29, 2022
Jimmy McDonough is a thorough and highly opinionated writer. His biography of Neil Young earned a cranky response from its subject, but I thought it was pretty good. He has his work cut out for him with the notoriously elusive Green, but he does an excellent job of chronicling the players and producers around Memphis’s Hi Records. In the end if Green remains an enigma, that’s not the author’s fault — the man seems unknowable. McDonough’s black and white judgments can be annoying at times, but are preferable to the bland judiciousness of some other biographers.
September 13, 2026
An incredible and unflinching biography about the American musical genius Al Green. Not only do they do into depth about his story but also about the people that also created his sound- Willie Mitchell, the Hodges Brother and Hi Records band. Jimmy McDonough is quickly becoming my favorite music writer after this and the best book written about Neil Young "Shakey".
This was not an easy endeavor for McDonough since Green is loath to give interviews and did not cooperate at all in the writing of this book. Go listen to Al Green.
This was not an easy endeavor for McDonough since Green is loath to give interviews and did not cooperate at all in the writing of this book. Go listen to Al Green.
November 28, 2018
Didn't finish; made it 1/2 way through. I enjoy Al Green's music and love the Memphis music scene, but there is limited info on Al Green so book gets very technical into the music and focuses on the other players of Hi Records. Perhaps, judging from other reviews, it gets back to Green but I didn't make it that far. Way too long. If you are more into Al Green beyond enjoying the music or into the music business, then this book may be for you.
March 18, 2021
Really a superb biography - doesn't shy away from the uglier parts of Green's story, but doesn't fixate on them either, focusing instead - as any good biography of the man should - on the brilliance of his music. Extra points for managing, from time to time, to be laugh-out-loud hilarious. A wonderfully written, well-rounded biography that doubles as an essential history of Hi Records. Great stuff, highest recommendation to Green and soul fans.
November 28, 2017
I have never heard of Al Green so I don’t know why I picked up this book at the library. I like biographies but ended up just skimming this one. I didn’t recognize any of the songs nor did I know who any of the umpteen musicians mentioned were (besides the very obvious ones and my favorite BJ Thomas). Live and learn to not judge a book by its cover!
December 30, 2021
This one may not be the most well written book I’ve picked up, but what a FASCINATING subject is Al Green!
I really enjoyed learning about him and am super grateful to have been introduced to O.V. Wright, who now graces several of my playlists.
If you like Al’s music, or are fascinated with borderline personalities this might be a book for you?
I really enjoyed learning about him and am super grateful to have been introduced to O.V. Wright, who now graces several of my playlists.
If you like Al’s music, or are fascinated with borderline personalities this might be a book for you?
May 18, 2022
The first biography of Al Green I had come across . A bit of difficult read in so far as Al Green comes across as a complex character and not necessarily likeable . Well researched and give further insight into the man and his music . Led to me playing a large part of the Al Green back catalogue which can only be a good thing .
May 27, 2019
Well researched and I enjoy the author’s passionate style, but the Hi years chapters are much more captivating than the whole gospel era (that sometimes becomes a bit boring and repetitive). Still it is a solid and must-read book to anyone interested in soul music.
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March 26, 2021One of the classic self-destructive pop icons torn between faith and fun. Characters like this appear to be less and less prevalent in today’s society which can only be a good thing looking at their crimes however doesn’t make them any less fascinating to look at.
December 27, 2017
Listened to audio and was turned off quickly, the author interjected to much, started to dislike the reader... love his music, had more fun at iTunes and dumped the book early.
June 2, 2026
If you love Al Green's music, you will probably not like the man as much after reading this interesting biography. That's all right. The music is still great.
April 21, 2026
If this account is to be believed, Al Green is a far different person than the public narrative, which usually reads along the lines of, 'he was a super successful singer who gave it all up to become a preacher!' That's not untrue but there's far more to this extremely talented artist but very complicated person. And, as exhaustive as Jimmy McDonough's research is, getting to the so-called 'Real Al Green' is damn near impossible - even for Al Green himself.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews