Released 1971 Genre R&B, soul Label Decca Records | Format 7" single Length 2:43 | |
B-side "Get Back Baby" (U.S.)
"Right Now, Right Now" (UK) | ||
"Tired of Being Alone" is a soul song written by Al Green that became popular in the early 1970s and remains popular to this day, being a score in popular shows such as Nip/Tuck. It reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and # 7 on the Hot Soul Singles Chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 12 song for 1971.
Contents
Though released on the 1971 album, Al Green Gets Next to You, the song was written in late 1968 and intended to be released on the 1969 album, Green Is Blues. Problems occurred with the first recording, so it was postponed for production. It was altered and perfected the second time around.
"Tired of Being Alone" was produced and recorded by Willie Mitchell at Hi Records and mixed by Mitchell and Terry Manning.
In 1973, Green performed the song with Chicago on the TV special Chicago in the Rockies. In 2002, this recording appeared as a bonus track on the remastered version of Chicago VI.
In 2004, Green's version was ranked #293 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Texas version
In 1992 Scottish band Texas covered "Tired of Being Alone", which became a substantial hit in the United Kingdom, reaching no. 19 on the official UK Singles Chart. A re-recorded version later appeared on their 2000 album, The Greatest Hits.
Track listings
- "Tired of Being Alone" — 3:17
- "Wrapped in Clothes of Blue" — 4:18
- "Tired of Being Alone" — 3:17
- "Thrill Has Gone" — 4:25
- "In My Heart" (12") — 6:36
- "Prayer for You" — 6:51
- "Tired of Being Alone" — 3:02
- "Walk the Dust" — 5:11
- "Why Believe in You" — 3:32
- "Return" — 2:34
Other versions
In addition to Texas, "Tired of Being Alone" has also been covered by Michael Bolton, Tom Jones, the Subdudes and by Eran James. Graham Bonnet of Rainbow, MSG, and Alcatrazz fame covered "Tired of Being Alone" on 1977's "Graham Bonnet". The soul group Quiet Elegance, who were stablemates at Hi Records with Green and had toured with him, also released a cover of the song on their albums You've Got My Mind Messed Up (1990) and The Complete Quiet Elegance (2003). Tarja Turunen covered the song on her 2012 album Act I: Live in Rosario. American singer Sybil released a cover as a non-album single in 1996, peaking at #53 in the UK. The original Al Green version was featured in the 1995 film Dead Presidents.