Paul McCartney is one of five distinguished artists paid tribute at "The 33rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors," broadcast at 9 p.m. Tuesday on CBS in the U.S. Also honored are Merle Haggard, Jerry Herman, Bill T. Jones and Oprah Winfrey.
The annual event recognizes recipients for their lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts in dance, music, theater, opera, motion pictures and television. Keeping with tradition, the roster of performers and presenters remained secret prior to the gala and a short biographical film was featured during each honoree's tribute.
Performers and presenters at the ceremony included Edward Albee, Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Kelsey Grammer, Dave Grohl, Jennifer Hudson, Kris Kristofferson, Norah Jones, Angela Lansbury, Willie Nelson, No Doubt, Sidney Poitier, Chita Rivera, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, James Taylor, Steven Tyler, Barbara Walters, the Rob Mathes Band, Tennessee State University Choir and the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, D.C.
President and Mrs. Barack Obama sat with the honorees in the presidential box of the Opera House at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts following a traditional White House reception for the five being honored.
Caroline Kennedy, serving as host for the eighth year, introduced the show by describing the five 2010 honorees. She called McCartney "a Liverpool lad with a sublime gift for melody who always lived for tomorrow and made us long for 'Yesterday.'"
Each of the honorees had a section of the program devoted to them. In paying tribute to McCartney, actor Alec Baldwin said, "First let's get this off the table: Paul McCartney is a genius. We're honoring him here tonight for his achievements in the performing arts. His genius as a maker of music is undisputed, but Paul also has a genius for life, and I think the two are related. Paul never loses sight of what's important...His great achievement as a musician goes beyond the millions and millions of records sold, and the millions more to come. Paul married rock 'n' roll with beauty and forever raised the bar for composers, musicians and fans. Paul, you've changed the world, but while everything around you changed, you never did. We honor you tonight for your career as a Beatle, the leader of Wings, an incredible solo performer, the creator of our favorite songs, and, yes, as a Moondog, too."
The tribute to McCartney included No Doubt singing a medley of Beatle songs, including "Hello Goodbye," "All My Loving" and "Penny Lane"; a performance of "Maybe I'm Amazed" by Dave Grohl and Norah Jones, accompanied by the Rob Mathes Band; and Steven Tyler singing a medley of songs from the Beatles' "Abbey Road" album, including "She Came In Through the Bathroom Window," "Golden Slumbers," "Carry That Weight" and "The End." James Taylor then sang "Let It Be" and "Hey Jude" with gospel singer Mavis Staples, the Joyce Garrett Choir and the rest of the performers and the audience as the evening concluded.
In addition to "The 33rd Annual Kennedy Center Honors," McCartney will be interviewed about "The Kennedy Center Honors" on Tuesday's edition of "The Early Show," which airs at 7 a.m. ET/PT. Check local listings for the airtimes for both shows.
(Thanks to Emman Sells Out for the heads up on "The Early Show.")
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Comments
Nobody like him... he has the power to make me dream.... love you macca, please come to Peru. :)
I knew Steve Tyler was going to do The End. Watching this, I was afraid it was going to come off as rocking a little too hard for the crowd. Carol Channing was there, for jiminies sake.
But it was great, Gwen, Steven, Dave, Nora (she's got Beatle ties!), Mavis and James.
It rocked too hard in a good way.
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