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Morgan Freeman was recently recorded singing alongside Al Green on New Year's Eve. Per Atlanta Black Star, the video of Freeman singing with Al Green was recorded by Omar Jimenez, a CNN correspondent who paid a visit to the actor's blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi - called Ground Zero - on December 31.
The video was posted on Instagram by @thejasminebrand on Thursday, January 2, and has since received over 4K likes, with netizens reacting to it. One netizen wrote:
"Now THIS is a moment"
Other netizens expressed surprise at seeing Al Green performing live, asking the 78-year-old to embark on tour so they could attend it. One of them even called the singer "The Reverend," referring to his status of an ordained pastor.
The two performed a duet on Green's hit, Let's Stay Together, on the stage of Ground Zero, as the crowd at the club cheered them on.
Morgan Freeman also told Jimenez the story behind Ground Zero
In another video uploaded on Instagram on January 1, Omar Jimenez was seen in conversation with Morgan Freeman. When Jimenez asked the actor how he ended up "being involved with this place," to which, Freeman said:
"I have a partner in business, as it were; he’s in a lot of other businesses, but we were getting ready to open a restaurant just up the street called Madidi. Madidi is a place in the South American forest."
Morgan continued:
"While we’re working on Madidi, we look out the window, and there’s a couple of young people up on the street, and Bill — a person who will jump into anybody’s business — he was the former mayor. He’s a lawyer. And he went across the street and introduced himself."
As Bill talked to them, they said they were looking for a place for some blues music, which led to their decision to open a blues club right there, in Clarksdale.
Ground Zero - which was named after Clarksdale being historically referred to as the "ground zero" for the blues - opened back in May 2001. It is co-owned by Morgan Freeman, Howard Stovall - an entertainment executive, and Eric Meie - a businessman. Bill Luckett, the friend Morgan referred to in his answer, also co-owned the club till 2021, when he passed away battling cancer.
Per the Atlanta Black Star, instead of hosting a funeral for Luckett after his death, the attorney's family held a homecoming celebration at Ground Zero.
Morgan Freeman recently talked about the actors who inspired him in a magazine interview
Morgan Freeman's singalong with Al Green at Ground Zero came on the same day as his interview with the Far Out magazine was published. In the interview, the Gunner actor shared that he was most inspired by movies from the early era of Hollywood, such as High Noon, White Heat, and Casablanca.
Describing the actors belonging to this era, Freeman said:
"Gary Cooper, Bogart. And later in life, James Cagney. They go right at the role, and that’s all they do. No personality bullshit. I did most of my learning in my first play onstage from Stacy Keach, just watching him prepare."
Besides Ground Zero, Morgan Freeman co-owns a Madidi - a fine-dining restaurant located in Clarksdale. He is also a founding member of Revelations Entertainment, a film production company.
