On October 18, 1974, Mary Woodson, having had her marriage proposal rejected by her boyfriend Green, poured boiling grits on him as he was showering, inflicting second-degree burns on his back, stomach, and arm. She then killed herself in an adjacent bedroom. Deeply shaken, and feeling that he was being punished by God for his promiscuous lifestyle, Green converted to Christianity and became an ordained pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976. Continuing to record R&B, Green saw his sales start to slip. 1977's The Belle Album, which he produced, cowrote, and played acoustic guitar on, was critically acclaimed but did not regain his former mass audience. It deserved to.
