Morgan Freeman names the greatest singer of all time: “I have a lot of favourites”
Morgan Freeman isn’t often thought of as a musical star. His most famous roles have usually required him to be a godlike voice of reassurance and wisdom, a niche that doesn’t typically involve breaking out into song and dance. However, from the beginning of his career, music has been an important piece of the puzzle.
On an obvious level, it played a part in his performances as a theatre actor. One of his earliest jobs as a performer was in 1964 when he was a member of the Opera Ring musical theatre group that performed at the World’s Fair in San Francisco. Four years later, he made his Broadway debut in the all-Black production of the musical Hello, Dolly.
Beyond his own performances, Freeman has been profoundly influenced by music throughout his career, with the blues being a particular passion. In an interview with 60 Minutes, the actor explained why the genre spoke to him so deeply. “I think this is the music that comes directly from the soul,” he said. “It’s just wrenched out of you. It’s palpable that they’re singing from deep.”
As a kid growing up in Mississippi in the 1940s and ’50s, he would have been surrounded by the music of Delta Blues icons like Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf. In 2001, he demonstrated his reverence for the genre and his home state by opening Ground Zero, a blues club located a stone’s throw away from the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi. More recently, he has spearheaded a multimedia performance entitled Morgan Freeman Presents: Symphonic Blues, in which he narrates the history of the Delta Blues with the aid of a live orchestra and blues music.
His love of music is even evident in his favourite movies. In an interview with The Guardian in 2003, he declared that his most beloved film was the 1959 French musical Black Orpheus, which was set in Rio de Janeiro and helped popularise the Brazilian genre of bossa nova. Two years later, he sang the praises of Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrumann’s sumptuous musical romance. “It’s a work of art,” the actor proclaimed, saying it was his favourite movie that he hadn’t been a part of.
Given his deep history with music, both as a performer and a listener, it’s no surprise that, when asked in an interview with IGN about his favourite musician, Freeman was reluctant to name just one person. “I have a lot of favourites, so I don’t think I can pick really just one,” he said. “But I will say for a performer, it’s Al Green.”
Although he isn’t associated specifically with the Delta Blues, Green is hardly a surprising choice. The soul singer is one of the great musical talents of his generation and a musician’s musician. Everyone from Lou Reed to Ringo Starr has sung his praises and even expressed envy over his gobsmacking talents.
Green, who is also an ordained pastor and record producer, rose to prominence in the 1970s with hits like ‘Let’s Stay Together’, ‘Tired of Being Alone’, and ‘I’m Still in Love with You’. In the process, he’s won 11 Grammy Awards, which is arguably fewer than he deserves.
