Giving the public what it wants

When did I first realise I could sing? I’m still not sure I can. It’s not up to me to claim I have a gift but, of course, it’s nice when others think I do. And all these years later [Green’s first British Top Ten hit was Tired of Being Alone in 1971], I’m kept busy here with music. “Oh, it’s so nice to see you back on stage,” people have been saying this past month [he is touring in support of his new album on Blue Note, Lay It Down] – like I’m ever not on stage! I played 147 concerts last year and that’s pretty much the norm for me. The show could be me doing whatever it is I feel like doing [he bursts into the opening lines of The Temptations’ 1969 hit single, I Can’t Get Next to You, which he covered in 1970]: “I can turn the greyest sky blue/ I can make it rain, whenever I want it to…” I’m not just singing the new songs; I do old ones too, such as Let’s Stay Together and L.O.V.E., ’cos I know they’re what people want to hear.

Being a willing prisoner of the South

I could live in New York or Los Angeles, Denver, Colorado or pretty much anywhere I choose, but the fact is I’ve lived in Memphis for about the past 40 years. I think the city put some kind of mumbo-jumbo spell on me the first time I pitched up there. I’ve been trying to leave ever since, but something keeps preventing me. The thing about Tennessee is not just that it’s a very musical state, but that it’s musically so diverse. In Nashville you’ve got country, gospel and Christian music. And in Memphis you’ve got the rock’n’roll tradition epitomised by Elvis Presley and the R&B one of B.B. King. There’s this richness and variety of vibes that you just don’t get anywhere else.

Heeding the call, when it came

I knew nothing about religion when I was a kid. I had not a single clue. I was far too busy chasing girls. And who knows why some people are called? God knows, but I’m not God and I’m not about to speak for him. Long story short: I was ordained 31 years ago [Green is a pastor at the Full Gospel Tabarnacle in Memphis], and every Sunday that I’m not out on the road, you’ll find me preaching there. I try to do a good job, and certainly people turn up to hear me from all four corners of the world. Quite why they make the journey, I don’t know. I’m not telling them anything they couldn’t figure out for themselves or read in a book. But come they do, and luckily I don’t ever seem to find myself lost for words.

Giving respect where it is due

You’ve got some good singers over there in Britain. I recorded with Annie Lennox back in the day [they had a hit in 1988 with a duetted version of Put a Little Love in Your Heart], and she was great. But much more recently I’ve worked with Corinne Bailey Rae [she appears on a track, Take Your Time, on his new album], and I was so impressed. She flew out from London to Memphis just to record with me in my studio and was inspirational. That such a voice can come from this tiny little person… She’s an exceptional talent and a lovely, very easy-to-work-with person. I might not be comfortable claiming I’ve got a gift myself, but I’m happy to say it about Corinne. And it’s very gratifying to find that someone so special from a younger generation has enjoyed and been influenced by past things you’ve done yourself.

Al Green’s UK tour starts on October 28 at Birmingham NIA Academy, followed by dates across the UK. For further venues and ticket information, call 0871 4244444, or visit www.ticketline.co.uk . His new album, Lay It Down, is on Blue Note