Today’s classic song of the day is “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green. Released in November of 1971, this single peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard’s Best-Selling Soul Singles charts. Billboard ranked it as the #1 R&B single and the #11 single overall for 1972 and, in 2010, the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry.
“Let’s Stay Together” was written by Al Green, Willie Mitchell, and Al Jackson, Jr. Willie Mitchell ran Royal Studios in Memphis, along with the Hi Records label, which released this single. Al Jackson, Jr., was the drummer for Booker T. & the M.G.’s and a popular house musician for Stax Records in Memphis.
The track is a masterclass is smooth ’70s soul. Al Green supplied the warm, career-defining vocals; drummer Al Jackson contributed the soulful groove, augmented by Howard Grimes’ softly galloping congas; and Mitchell arranged the horns to punctuate Green’s vocals. Mitchell recalls how he used the other instruments:
“If you notice I don’t use horns, they’re just in and out all the time. It’ll never be horns, horns, horns, or organ, organ, organ. I think the horns, when they say something they, like people are talking, you see, that’s the way I think of horns. Matter of fact, that’s the way I think of a record. The horns talking to the bass and the bass talking to the drums and the singer talking to everybody and everybody talking to the singer. That’s the way I think of a record.”
Under the tutelage of producer Willie Mitchell, Al Green had an extraordinary run of hits in the early ’70s. His best-selling singles included “Tired of Being Alone” (#11 in 1971), “Look What You Done for Me” (#4, 1972), “I’m Still In Love With You” (#3, 1972), “You Ought to Be With Me” (#3, 1972), “Call Me (Come Back Home)” (#10, 1973), “Here I Am (Come and Take Me)” (#10, 1973), “Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)” (#7, 1974), and “L-O-V-E (Love)” (#13, 1975).
Al Green turned to recording gospel music in the early ’80s, became a minister, and founded Memphis’ Full Gospel Tabernacle church. He had a comeback secular hit in 1988 with a duet with Annie Lennox on “Put a Little Love In Your Heart” for the movie Scrooged. The Reverend Green continues preaching and performing today, age 78.
