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With an extraordinary appeal that has continued unabated since the early 1970s, Al Green remains the quintessential soul man—one of the most enduring, electrifying, and enigmatic artists of our era. But at the very heart of his appeal is the conflict between the devil’s music and God’s calling, a conflict he has wrestled with all his life. This is
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With an extraordinary appeal that has continued unabated since the early 1970s, Al Green remains the quintessential soul man—one of the most enduring, electrifying, and enigmatic artists of our era. But at the very heart of his appeal is the conflict between the devil’s music and God’s calling, a conflict he has wrestled with all his life. This is his story.
Take Me to the River is an inspiring, unsparing, and ultimately transforming autobiography. From a sharecropper’s shack in Jacknash, Arkansas, to the absolute pinnacle of show-business success, it chronicles Al Green’s career in rich detail. This is the whole story—his early days on the gospel and R&B circuits, his fateful encounter with legendary producer Willie Mitchell, his climb to the top of the charts, the attempted murder and suicide scandal that made headlines worldwide, and his decision to become a pastor and found his own church—the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis, Tennessee.
Take Me to the River brings Al Green’s epic spiritual struggle—a story of repentance, redemption, and renewal—to life with all the urgency and immediacy of his music.
“Green's journey from Arkansas sharecropper to R & B star to preacher is as compelling as any great blues or gospel song . . . Green is frank in personalizing his theme of the struggle between religion and the temptations of fame and fortune. But he is most disarming in his joyous descriptions of the singing and music-making sessions with early groups and bands.” —Booklist
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