Morgan Freeman and Al Green have performed a rare duet of ‘Let’s Stay Together’ – watch footage of the performance below.
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On New Year’s Eve (December 31), acting legend Morgan Freeman surprised patrons at the Mississippi bar Ground Zero – which he owns – when he joined music icon Al Green onstage for a tender rendition of the latter’s classic tune ‘Let’s Stay Together’.
For the performance, Freeman – sporting a white turtle neck and black blazer – walked onstage as Al Green began singing lyrics from the 1971 classic: “‘Cause you make me feel so brand new.” Freeman joined in: “Let me say that since, baby, since we’ve been together / Ooh, loving you forever.”
The audience – as seen in the footage below – was caught by surprise and erupted into applause and cheers as the two legends shared the stage. During the performance, Green and Freeman took turns smiling and turning to each other, at times breaking out into laughter.
Following the performance, Morgan Freeman took to X (formerly Twitter), to share an image of himself with Al Green and another of revered bassist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram performing at his blues bar.
Freeman wrote: “We ushered in the New Year with Al Green and Kingfish at Ground Zero last night. Happy New Year, everyone!”
We ushered in the New Year with Al Green and Kingfish at Ground Zero last night. Happy New Year, everyone! pic.twitter.com/SMQQp82y5i
— Morgan Freeman (@morgan_freeman) January 1, 2025
In November, Al Green continued his streak of soulful covers of popular songs by sharing a charming rendition of R.E.M.’s ‘Everybody Hurts’. In the lead-up to the cover’s release, the American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer released a handful of covers over the last couple of years. In 2020 he shared his version of Freddy Fender’s ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’, followed by a cover of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ in 2023.
Green’s take on ‘Everybody Hurts’ was R.E.M.-approved, too. Frontman Michael Stipe gave the cover the green light, saying: “Speaking on behalf of the entire band—we could not be more honoured, more flattered, more humbled. This is an epic moment for us.”