Al Greene was born 13 April 1946 at Forrest City, Arkansas. His first recordings were with the Greene Brothers, a fraternal gospel quartet. Four years later he partnered to form the Creations. In 1967, he was with Al Greene and The Soul Mates and recorded "Back Up Train". Later, he decided to work solo. He became a recorder for Hi Records in 1969 and he continued to increase in stature as a major artist.

His personal life was rocked in October, 1974, when following an argument with his girlfriend, Mary Woodson, she burst in while he was bathing and poured boiling grits over his back. She then shot herself dead. Although he had recorded gospel music occasionally, he vowed to devote more time to God from this incident. His work was growing predictable and he dissolved his partnership in Hi Records and formed his own recording studio, American Music.

Things did not improve greatly and in 1979 Greene fell from a Cincinnati stage and he took this as a religious sign. "The Lord Will Make A Way" was the first of several gospel-only recordings.

He continued to record sacred material throughout the rest of the decade. Greene, a practicing minister, reached the charts with "Put A Little Love In Your Heart" in 1989 and other songs.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2003 he recorded, "I Can’t Stop" with the collaboration of some of his friends from Hi Record time.