It’s a story we’ve all heard for decades. Many people poke fun at the incident but for Al Green, it was no laughing matter.
On this day, October 18, 1974, it was reporter that Al Green was at his Memphis, Tennessee home when ex-girlfriend, Mary Woodson burst into the bathroom as Green was taking a shower, and threw boiling hot grits on him. The incident left Green with second degree burns requiring skin grafts and several months of recovery.
Their is lots of speculation of why the incident occurred. Some say that Woodson left her husband and kids hoping to marry Green and when he refused she became outraged. Other reports say Woodson was an obsessed fan, but the actual details of what led to the incident still remains a mystery.
Tragically, Woodson is said to have taken her own life after the grits throwing incident with a gun that belonged to Green.
This incident was a turning point in Green’s life, and he saw it as a spiritual awakening. He became more devoted to his religious beliefs, eventually becoming a minister and leaving his secular music career for a time. In 1976, Green established the Full Gospel Tabernacle church where he still serves as pastor in Memphis.