It cost $200 a ticket to hear President Obama speak at a fundraiser Thursday in New York. Obama singing? That was just a bonus.

The president thrilled the crowd of about 1,400 at the landmark Apollo Theater when he briefly launched into song, crooning a few lines of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” to the surprise of, well, just about everyone.

Even more -- he wasn’t half bad.

“I - I - I -- I’m so in love with you,” he crooned in a somewhat sheepish falsetto, as the audience roared in approval.


“I told you I was going to do it!” Obama shouted to someone just offstage. “The Sandman did not come out!”

Green, the legendary soul singer, was one of the two warm-up acts for the president. Obama assured him it was just a one-time tribute gesture.

“Don’t worry, Rev. I cannot sing like you,” he joked. “I just wanted to show my appreciation.”

The event was one of several Big Apple fundraisers the president attended Thursday while his would-be Republican foes were sparring at a debate in South Carolina. Others had price tags of $5,000, $15,000 or even $35,800. But some supporters got to hear the presidential pipes for as little as $100.


In his remarks, Obama pressed his case for a second term, and for his troops to be just as fired up as they were four years ago.

“I am just as determined now as I was then,” he said, “and if you are willing to stand alongside of me, change will come.”