Al Green Let’s Stay Together | Easily one of the best vocal performances ever
Soul at its best, that’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’ by Al Green, one of the genre’s biggest stars who in the 1970s found his sound and hooked audiences with his smooth vocals and energy. This is a story with a lot of soul.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Video | Al Green Let’s Stay Together
- Trembol | Story behind Let’s Stay Together by Al Green
- You can’t miss | Best parts of Let’s Stay Together
- This is what it says | Let’s Stay Together lyrics
- Did you know? | Fun facts about Al Green and Let’s Stay Together
- Much more | Documentary, covers…
- Technical Note about Let’s Stay Together
Video | Al Green Let’s Stay Together
Trembol | Story behind Let’s Stay Together by Al Green
‘Let’s Stay Together‘ is a song by American singer Al Green from his 1972 album of the same name.
- Released as a single in 1971, ‘Let’s Stay Together‘ reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts, where it stayed for 16 and 9 weeks respectively, making it the R&B song of the year 1972.
Now that you know the facts, let’s get to the interesting part, its story 😊
One fantastic day at the end of 1971, Al Green entered, as he did every day, in the studio, but that day would be different, that day producer Willie Mitchell and drummer Al Jackson Jr. were testing a melody and rhythms that caught Al Green’s attention, he asked them about them, but both replied that they were just playing around. Green left the room, disappearing for 15 minutes. When he returned he had written the lyrics to ‘Let’s Stay Together’.
For the next eight days, they concentrated on the vocals. The producer, Mitchell, wanted it to sound very smooth, Green on the other hand wanted to use a manly tone. When they finished recording it the way Al Green wanted it, Mitchell told him it sounded like any other singer, which made Green cry 😭. He ran out of the studio, skidded his car and went to the countryside to think. When he returned to the studio, calmer, Green began to sing in whispers.
- Within a few days, half a million copies of the single were printed and four days later it was a gold record.
Before this album, Al Green had never had a number one, but it was only a matter of time because Al had a virtuoso voice and a very special energy, he only needed to find his sound, something he achieved with Hi Records.
He created a soul sound somewhere between rough and smooth, influenced by the Stax or Atlantic Memphis sound of the 60s (Otis Redding and Solomon Burke were the greatest exponents), but giving it a more subtle touch, with backing singers singing sweetly and strings generating a more subdued feel.
‘Let’s Stay Together’ would catapult Al Green to stardom, a place from which he remained for the rest of his career with his unparalleled soul.
Al Green explains his approach to each song
Al Green live (Facebook Image)
Al Green and producer Willie Mitchell (Facebook image)
Al Green (Facebook Image)
I like to touch a song, to reach into it and pull out the emotion that is lying just under the surface.
Me gusta tocar una canción, meter la mano en ella y sacar la emoción que yace justo bajo la superficie.
🎵 Discover the story behind other great songs of all time.
Meaning of Al Green Let’s Stay Together
Al Green ‘Let’s Stay Together‘. Album cover
If we look at the lyrics we find phrases like:
Let me say that since, baby, since we’ve been together loving you forever is what I need
I’m so in love with you, whatever you want to do is all right with me
Logic tells us that it is a romantic song in which Al Green tells his partner that she is the one and that they should stay together for the rest of their lives.
Interestingly, when Al was asked about the meaning of ‘Let’s Stay Together’, he gave a completely different version:
It’s about the civil rights movement, the death of Martin Luther King Jr. and the protests of 1968.
What do you think? Let us know below in the comments 💬
You can’t miss ⭐️ The best parts of Let’s Stay Together
Normally we highlight 3 parts of the song that we particularly like, but in this case we are going to show you a live performance of Al Green singing ‘Let’s Stay Together’, which has to be listened to in its entirety, from the first whisper, through the screams after the chorus to the subtlety of the second verse.
- 4 minutes of pure enjoyment 😍
Al Green Let’s Stay Together (Live)
This is what it says | Let’s Stay Together lyrics
AL GREEN | LET'S STAY TOGETHER | LYRICS
I, I’m I’m so in love with you
Whatever you want to do
Is all right with me
‘Cause you make me feel so brand new
And I want to spend my life with you
Let me say that since, baby, since we’ve been together
Ooh, loving you forever
Is what I need
Let me, be the one you come running to
I’ll never be untrue
Oh baby
Let’s, let’s stay together (‘gether)
Lovin’ you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah
Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad
Why, somebody, why people break up?
Oh, then turn around and make up
I just can’t see
You’d never do that to me (would you, baby?)
Just being around you is all I see
Here’s what I want us do
Let’s, we oughta stay together (‘gether)
Loving you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad
Come on
Let’s, woo (let’s stay together) let’s stay together
Loving you whether, whether times are good or bad
AL GREEN | LET'S STAY TOGETHER | LYRICS IN SPANISH
Estoy, estoy estoy tan enamorado de ti
Lo que quieras hacer
Me parece bien
Porque me haces sentir tan nuevo
Y quiero pasar mi vida contigo
Déjame decir que desde, nena, desde que estamos juntos
Ooh, amarte para siempre
Es lo que necesito
Déjame, ser a quien vengas corriendo
Nunca seré infiel
Oh nena
Permanezcamos, permanezcamos juntos
Amandote en
los buenos o malos tiempos, felices o tristes
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah
los buenos o malos tiempos, felices o tristes
¿Por qué, alguien, por qué la gente rompe?
Oh, luego se dan la vuelta y se reconcilian
No puedo ver
Nunca me harías eso (¿lo harías, nena?)
Sólo estar cerca de ti es todo lo que veo
Esto es lo que quiero que hagamos
Vamos, debemos permanecer juntos
Amandote en
los buenos o malos tiempos, felices o tristes
Vamos
Permanezcamos juntos
Amandote en los buenos o malos tiempos
Did you know...?
Much more | Documentary, covers…
Let’s Stay Together has been covered many times. We must say that almost all of them exaggerate the vocal performance a little bit, except for Tina Turner’s version.
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Here is a good documentary about ‘Let’s Stay Together’ album recording.
Al Green was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 for being “one of the most talented purveyors of soul music“. He is also known as “the last of the great soul singers”. Green has won 11 Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also received the BMI Icon Award and the Kennedy Center Honors.
Technical Note | Al Green ‘Let’s Stay Together‘
✔️ Let’s Stay Together brings together in little more than three minutes all the essential ingredients of the most orthodox Soul: wind arrangements, restrained and constant tempo, female choirs that verge on gospel, as well as an anthological vocal performance by Green.
✔️ It is surprising that a ballad like this can invite to dance so much. The secret is that between Al Green’s whispers he incorporates several lively screams and dynamic riffs that enhance the track, not to mention his live singing delivery.
✔️ The production is also very successful. Willie Mitchell, the producer, knowing Green’s velvety voice, created deliberately succinct instrumental arrangements, allowing the singer to reflect the full feeling with every nuance of his voice.
✔️ The sweeping vocals are joined by the Hi Records brass band and Charles Hodges’ Hammond. A perfect combination.
🎼 Played at a tempo of 102 bpm, the song was composed in G minor.
Al Green ‘Let’s Stay Together’ cover
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