Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green - Hardcover

McDonough, Jimmy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306822679 ISBN 13: 9780306822674

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2017

Synopsis

With songs like "Love and Happiness," "I'm Still in Love with You," and "Tired of Being Alone," Al Green is considered by many to be the greatest soul singer of all time. He has sold more than 20 million records, been sampled by countless hip-hop artists, and even had President Obama singing his tunes. One of the most intricate and elusive figures in popular music, Green has never been scrutinized in print successfully-until now.

Soul Survivor is the biography of a man whose life is the embodiment of the collision between the sacred and the profane, traversing the tortured road Green roamed from gospel to secular and back again. Readers bear witness to some of the greatest music ever recorded and the never-before-told story of Green's label, Hi Records.

About this title

Review:

"Incisive."
--Kirkus

"In great detail, journalist McDonough traces Green's career...[His] sharp critical insights into Green's albums and songs energize the book."
--Publishers Weekly

"Making the complexities of past subjects like Neil Young seem quaint by comparison, Jimmy McDonough has taken on the challenge of a lifetime: explaining the enduring mystery of Al Green. A compulsively readable and often disquieting tale, Soul Survivor helps us understand the mass of contradictions that comprise the Reverend's life story, as well as the warring factions that continue to battle within his heart and mind. A truly remarkable look at Al Green's soul--the music and the man."--Bob Mehr, author of Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements
"Deacon McDonough scrutinizes the inscrutable and finds many Al Greens. The man revealed may not be as beautiful as his voice, but he's every bit as astonishing. McDonough dives deep, bringing us the songs, the players, the loves, and the tragedies. This is a book where the surprises never end."--Robert Gordon, author of Respect Yourself: Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
"A gripping read."
--Memphis Flyer

"McDonough's riveting, richly detailed book dives into the deep, complex, tangled, tortured history of the man considered by many as one of the towering soul artists of the 20th century."--Parade

"Soul Survivor is masterful and exhaustively researched, and will be as close as a reader gets to knowing a practically unknowable artist."
--Houston Press

"Soul Survivor covers every twist and turn in the life and times of [Al Green]....a compelling and exhaustively detailed account."
--Pop Matters

"Wildly entertaining."--Wall Street Journal

"This thrilling biography not only takes you to the river, it'll wash you in the water as well."

--The Morton Report

Book Description:

Narrative biography of tortured soul singer Al Green by the author of Shakey: Neil Young's Story

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0306822679
• ISBN 13: 9780306822674
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304