“Love and Happiness” by Al Green is a soul and R&B song from his 1972 album I’m Still in Love with You. Green co-wrote the song with guitarist and songwriter Teenie Hodges, one of his most important collaborators, and the recording was produced by Willie Mitchell during the sessions for the album.

The song had an unusual release history. It was issued as a single in the United Kingdom by London Records in 1973, backed with “So You’re Leaving.” In the United States, Hi Records initially chose other songs from I’m Still in Love with You as singles, even though “Love and Happiness” became popular through radio airplay and Green’s live performances. An edited version was eventually released as a US single in 1977, backed with “Glory Glory.”

Musically, “Love and Happiness” is built around a slow-burning soul groove that gradually increases in intensity. Green described the recording as having the feeling of a “slow fever,” with the rhythm building underneath his vocal performance and short, staccato horn lines adding tension and excitement as the song develops.

The available credits do not provide a complete instrument-by-instrument personnel list for the recording. However, the arrangement is characterized by its rhythmic foundation, prominent horn accents, and Green’s expressive lead vocal, all shaped by Willie Mitchell’s Memphis soul production style.

One of the most distinctive details from the recording session concerns the tempo. Green later recalled that Willie Mitchell considered the exact pace of the song extremely important. During the successful take, Teenie Hodges could actually be heard keeping time with his foot on a cardboard box, a small studio detail that became part of the finished recording.

Green compared the process of recording the song to mixing explosive chemicals, explaining that every musical element had to enter at precisely the right moment and in the right amount. That careful layering helps explain why the arrangement feels restrained at first before gradually becoming more emotionally intense.

Lyrically, the song examines both sides of a romantic relationship. Rather than presenting love as purely joyful, it treats love and happiness as complicated experiences that can also involve arguments, disappointment, sacrifice, and emotional vulnerability. Green’s performance moves between tenderness and urgency, reinforcing that mixture of pleasure and difficulty.

Although the song was not initially released as a US single when the album was new, it became popular through radio airplay and Green’s performances. A notable early television appearance came on Soul Train on March 3, 1973, helping establish the song as an important part of his repertoire.

When the edited US single finally appeared in 1977, it reached No. 104 on the pop chart and No. 92 on the R&B chart. Its long-term reputation, however, greatly exceeded those modest chart positions. It later became the opening track on Al Green’s Greatest Hits, Volume II and appeared on subsequent greatest-hits collections.

The song has also been widely covered. Artists who have recorded their own versions include Etta James, Al Jarreau, Graham Central Station, David Sanborn, Living Colour, Toots and the Maytals, Marc Broussard, and Cultura Profética. Lee “Scratch” Perry and The Upsetters even reworked it into a reggae recording titled “Jungle Lion.”

Over time, “Love and Happiness” has come to be regarded as one of Al Green’s defining recordings. It was ranked No. 98 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, while critics have frequently singled it out as one of the strongest examples of Green’s distinctive combination of sensual vocals, gospel intensity, and Memphis soul.

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Love and happiness...
something that can make you do wrong, make you do right...
Love...

Love and happiness
Wait a minute...
something's going wrong
someone's on the phone
three o'clock in the morning
talkin' about how she can make it right
well,
happiness is when you really feel good with somebody
nothing wrong with being in one with someone
oh, baby, love and happiness
love and happiness...
love and happiness...

Love and happiness
You be good to me
I'll be good to you
we'll be together
we'll see each other
walk away with victory
oh baby,
love and happiness...
love and happiness...

Make you do right... love'll make you do wrong...
make you come home early...
make you stay out all night long...
the power of love...

wait a minute,
let me tell you...
the power of love...
make you do right... love'll make you do wrong...
make you want to dance...
love and happiness...
love and happiness...

love is... wait a minute... love is...
walkin' together...
talkin' together...
say it again...
say it together...
Mmmm....