Al Green and Barack Obama
Artists in this Article
Related Articles
Last night at a campaign fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, President Obama took the stage, crooning a line from Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" during his speech.
Between busting out his falsetto register for a taste of the Al Green 1971 classic "Let's Stay Together" and shouting out the in-attendance Reverend Green, color us impressed. So we asked a few major label A&R executives if they think Obama has a post-politics career in music, and naturally, asked Al Green and other soulful crooners for their thoughts on Obama's rendition.
Al Green's "Let's Stay Together" got a sales boost last week from an unlikely source -- President Barack Obama.
A video of the president singing the first line of the song at a Jan. 19 fund-raising event went viral the next day, sparking a 490% weekly sales increase for the song. It sold 16,000 downloads in the week ending Jan. 22 according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Al Green, A&R Execs & Artists Sound Off on Obama's Performance
It's the best sales week for the song since SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003.
The fundraiser took place at New York's Apollo Theater, where Green was also making an appearance. As Obama took to the stage, he noted Green's presence in the room and surprised the crowd (and his aides) with a bit of his crooning.
Watch: President Obama Sings Al Green's, "Let's Stay Together"
"Those guys didn't think I would do it," joked Obama, gesturing to his staffers on the side of the stage. "I told you I was going to do it. The Sandman did not come out."
While there are multiple videos of the moment on YouTube, the most-viewed clip has been watched more than 4 million times.
Comments