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VIDEO: Obama Sings In Harlem; Channels A Little Al Green

President Obama at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem on Thursday (Jan. 19, 2012).
Jewel Samad
/
AFP/Getty Images
President Obama at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem on Thursday (Jan. 19, 2012).
President Obama sings a little bit

Perhaps if things don't work out the way he hopes on Nov. 6, President Obama can be a backup singer someday.

Last night at a campaign fundraiser in Harlem's Apollo Theater, he briefly broke into song with a bit of Al Green's Let's Stay Together. The Associated Press has the video here.

Presidents from both major parties have displayed their musical talents in the past, of course.

Republican Richard Nixon apparently played the accordian occasionally and not only tickled the ivories but also composed a piano concerto. Democrat Bill Clinton plays the saxophone, and famously broke it out during the 1992 presidential campaign on The Arsenio Hall Show.

Democrat Harry Truman loved the piano "and he often said that if he had been a good pianist he never would have become president," according to the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. A picture of actress Lauren Bacall sitting atop a piano as Truman played created something of a stir.

Going way back, Thomas Jefferson was a violinist.

As for President Obama, what do you think?

(Note: That's not a scientific survey, by any means.)

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.