''Let's Stay Together'' is the fourth album by the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

, released in 1972, and is the follow-up to his moderate success '' Al Green Gets Next to You''. It was recorded at Royal Recording Studio, 1320 S. Lauderdale, in

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

and was a success, peaking at number eight on the pop albums chart and became the first of six albums to peak at number-one on the soul album chart (where it claimed the position for ten weeks). It is best known for the title track " Let's Stay Together", which became Green's signature song and his only number-one pop hit single. The album was the third produced by Willie Mitchell and marked the beginning of Green's classic period of critically acclaimed albums. ''Let's Stay Together'' was reissued in 2003 by The Right Stuff.

Critical reaction

The album's appeal was widespread among critics. At the time, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' noted "Green's voice is something to marvel at. He can croon, shout, scat, rise to the smoothest falsetto, and throw in the funkiest growls ... Let's Stay Together'' is, like its predecessor, an indispensable treat." In 1999, '' Q'' magazine wrote that the album "shows him as the authentic voice of love's pain and purity on such wonders as 'How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?'"'' Q'', October 1999, p.150 and that " s cover of the Bee Gees'

ong Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, ...

took the soul ballad to new levels of artistry and refinement."

List rankings

*Included in ''Q'' magazine's "Best Soul Albums of All Time" *Ranked #335 in the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

All-Time top 1000 album list *Ranked #608 in the

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

top 1000 album poll (1994) and #25 in the Top 50 Soul Albums list

Track listing

All songs written by Al Green, except where noted

Side one

# " Let's Stay Together" (Green, Al Jackson, Jr., Willie Mitchell) – 3:18 # "La-La for You" (Green, Mitchell) – 3:31 # "So You're Leaving" – 2:57 # "What Is This Feeling" – 3:42 # "Old Time Lovin'" – 3:19

Side two

# "I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)" (

Eddie Floyd Edward Lee Floyd (born June 25, 1937) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s, including the No. 1 R&B hit song " Knock on Wood". Biography Floyd was born in ...

Alvertis Isbell Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell; March 15, 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter, and record executive. He is best known as having been an executive and co-owner of Stax Records, based in Memphis, Tennessee, during the latter half of the ...

Booker T. Jones Booker Taliaferro Jones Jr. (born November 12, 1944) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. & the M.G.'s. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known art ...

) – 3:41 # "

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart" is a song released by the Bee Gees in 1971. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb and was the first single on the group's 1971 album ''Trafalgar''. It was their first US No. 1 single and also reached No. 1 in ...

" (

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

Robin Gibb Robin Hugh Gibb (22 December 1949 – 20 May 2012) was a British singer and songwriter. He gained worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees pop group with elder brother Barry and fraternal twin brother Maurice. Robin Gibb also had his o ...

) – 6:22 # "Judy" – 3:47 # "It Ain't No Fun to Me" – 3:23

Reissue tracks

Bonus tracks on 2003 reissue * "Eli's Game" – 4:55 * "Listen to Me" (Traditional) – 2:30

Personnel

Rhythm section *

Howard Grimes Howard Lee Grimes (August 22, 1941 – February 12, 2022) was an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s. Life and career Born in Memphis, Tennessee on August 2 ...

– drums *

Al Jackson Jr. Albert J. Jackson Jr. (November 27, 1935 – October 1, 1975) was an American drummer, producer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, a group of session musicians who worked for Stax Records and produced their ...

– drums *

Leroy Hodges Leroy Hodges (born July 13, 1943) is an American electric bass player. He was born in Germantown, Tennessee. Paired with either Booker T. & the MGs's drummer Al Jackson, Jr. or Stax staff drummer Howard Grimes, Leroy and The Hodges Brothers ...

– bass guitar *

Charles Hodges Charles Edward Hodges (born June 29, 1947 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American organist and songwriter. He is known for his high tone on the Hammond B3 organ, that appeared on records by Al Green, and other musicians signed to Hi Records. Hodge ...

– organ, piano *

Teenie Hodges Mabon Lewis "Teenie" Hodges (November 16, 1945 – June 22, 2014) was an American musician known for his work as a rhythm and lead guitarist and songwriter on many of Al Green's soul hits, and those of other artists such as Ann Peebles and Syl J ...

– guitar Horn section * Wayne Jackson – trumpet * Andrew Love – horn,

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* Ed Logan – horn, tenor saxophone * James Mitchell – bass,

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass. It is the lowest-pitched saxophone in common use - the bass, contra ...

arrangements In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

* Jack Hale, Sr. – trombone Vocals *

– vocals *

Charles Chalmers Charles Chalmers is an American saxophonist, session musician, backup singer, songwriter and producer. He has written several hit songs for many recording artists, and has also arranged and performed on many Grammy winning recordings. Seven of tho ...

, Donna Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes – background vocals, arrangements Additional personnel * Willie Mitchell – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Willie Mitchell &

Terry Manning Terry Manning is an American photographer, composer, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, audio engineer, and visual artist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, he has worked with Led Zeppelin, Iron Maiden, Bryan Adams, ...

– mixing engineers * Peter Rynston –

mastering engineer A mastering engineer is a person skilled in the practice of taking audio (typically musical content) that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distr ...

* Jools DeVere –

artwork A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature ...

* Bud Lee – photography

References

Bibliography

* {{Authority control 1972 albums Al Green albums Albums produced by Willie Mitchell (musician) Hi Records albums