THE HIT HAMMER: Al Green's "Let's Stay Together"

(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)

Al Green - "Let's Stay Together"

Hit Number 1: February 12, 1972

Stay at Number 1: 1 Week

It's amazing how many times songs were almost never released. Believe it or not, Al Green had many problems with his song "Let's Stay Together". He thought his voice was too thin, and had no desire to record it in the first place. He just thought it was a weak song, but it instead turned out to be an immortal soul jam. Today, it's Green's signature song by a long shot, and it's even a part of the National Recording Registry, selected by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." And Green didn't want to record it. He was only talked into it by his producer Willie Mitchell, who told Green that the song "had magic on it."

Maybe part of the reason why Green wasn't sold on the song is because of how simple the lyrics are. Lyrically speaking, "Let's Stay Together" is your average love song, where a guy loves a woman, and vows to stick together with her through the good times and the bad. It's exactly what the title of the song might suggest. In 1971-1972, Green was only 25 years old and might have been trying to find a song that was going to him started in the music business, and thought that "Let's Stay Together" was too generic. This is all speculation, but it's the only way I can think of to justify Green's original thinking here.

Obviously if one were to look at the lyrics of the song without listening to it, they would probably think of it as another generic love song. However, Green's performance of the song shoots it into outer space. The only notable part of the instrumentation is the mid-tempo drum beat, which is the perfect beat for a song like this. Everything is quieted down, bringing Green's voice to the forefront, allowing him to just do his thing. And what a voice it is. The graceful way he reaches for his falsetto notes are amazing, and I can't believe he thought it sounded "thin." Green sings the song with so much soul and emotion, it's like the woman of his dreams is in the studio with him and he's singing the song to her. On "Let's Stay Together", it's Al Green's world and we're all just living in it.

However what I think is the most amazing thing about "Let's Stay Together" is how it manages to not get stale. Again, Green's voice is doing all the work here, but I don't get tired of hearing it. It's one of those perfect songs that evoke the truest feelings of love. I guess it's become a favorite for weddings, which isn't surprising, but it's also a perfect song to play for... those nights. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't think I need to get into specifics about that here.

Finally, I have to say I'm pretty happy for Green today. He's overcome some serious problems in his life, which included getting doused with boiling grits by his girlfriend in 1974 before she committed suicide, and the disappearance of his sister in 2013. As of now, his sister is still missing. Some of those problems are from his own doing though. He was alleged to have committed domestic violence on his ex-wife. There were apparently other cases of him abusing other women in the past, primarily in the 1970s. Somewhere along the way, though, he found God and put his past demons behind him. He won't appear in this blog again, but today he's working as a pastor in Memphis, Tennessee. I'm always happy to see stuff like that, and see people change their evil ways. I'm happy to see that incredible voice behind "Let's Stay Together" doing well today.

GRADE: 10/10