Al Green & Michael McDonald - June 19

Al Green was one of the biggest selling gospel and soul stars of the '70s, scoring worldwide hits with standards such as 'You Oughta Be With Me,' and 'Let's Stay Together'.

After his ordination as a pastor into a Memphis church, he recorded a series of gospel recordings, garnering no less than eight Grammys throughout the 1980s, and all in all, he has sold some 20 million records worldwide. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Green in 1995, referring to him as 'one of the most gifted purveyors of soul music'. He is an outstanding live performer.

A staple of US FM radio soft rock, Michael McDonald established himself with Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers before carving out a highly successful solo career in the 1980s. McDonald’s brand of blue eyed soul, rendered in a distinctive baritone, resulted in a plethora of gold and platinum albums. 'Yah Mo B There', a duet with James Ingram, won him the 1985 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group, and he followed that up with 'On My Own', a duet with Patti Labelle, which reached No.1 on the U.S. charts in 1986.

DID YOU KNOW?
• During a spat with his then girlfriend, Mary Woodson White, in 1974, Al Green was doused with a pan of boiling grits while showering, causing third-degree burns on his back, stomach and arms. Two years later he became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis.
• 'Let’s Stay Together', which provided Tina Turner with a major comeback hit in 1983, was voted a Legendary Michigan Song in 2008.
• Michael McDonald co-wrote Van Halen's hit 'I'll Wait', from their 1984 album.
• Doobie is slang for a joint. 'Steely Dan' is a strap-on dildo referred to in the William Burroughs' novel The Naked Lunch.
• In 1999, McDonald recorded a self parodying song 'Eyes of a Child' for the soundtrack album to South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut ("Sure life is kind of gay, but it doesn’t seem that way... Through the eyes of a child").