Obama’s performance of the soul classic leads to an increase in sales.
President Barack Obama has spent much of his presidency giving speeches about boosting the economy, and now he might have found a way to help the struggling music industry increase sales.
After the commander in chief unleashed a surprisingly impressive rendition of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together" at an Apollo Theater fundraiser last week, sales of the soul singer’s vintage hit saw a rise in sales.
According to Billboard magazine, the viral video of the President flexing his falsetto sent fans into a tizzy as they hurried to purchase the classic love jam that sat at the top of the Billboard charts in 1972. With more than four million views on Youtube the video helped the song enjoy a 490 percent sales surge. There were 16,000 downloads of the song, which turned out to be the most the record has ever experienced since SoundScan began keeping track of digital sales in 2003.
Ironically, the president was in New York to raise campaign funds and by hitting the right notes he helped Green, a performer at the fundraiser, pocket a few extra dollars.
The good reverend Al Green wasn’t the only soul icon to enjoy an upsurge in sales recently. Late, great Etta James also saw a spike in sales. Following her death last Friday (January 20) James’s music saw a nearly 400 percent increase.
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(Photos from left: Ethan Miller/Getty Images, Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
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