After Barack Obama was first elected President, Sir Paul McCartney hinted that he would love to sing his song "Michelle" to the First Lady. The former Beatle got his wish last night, June 2, as he serenaded Michelle Obama in the East Room of the White House. McCartney was performing in honor of being awarded the third Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song by President Obama.
See photos from the Paul McCartney Gershwin Prize ceremony and concert below
The prize is awarded to musicians whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with legendary songwriters, George and Ira Gershwin. The first Gershwin Prize was awarded in May 2007 to Paul Simon, and the second to Stevie Wonder in February 2009.
Other musicians including Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Herbie Hancock, Jack White, Dave Grohl, Stevie Wonder, Faith Hill and The Jonas Brothers performed a tribute to Sir Paul before he took the stage. Jerry Seinfeld even provided some comic relief.
The day before, on June 1, McCartney performed a private concert at the Library of Congress for an audience that included House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Stevie Wonder and Jerry Seinfeld. Earlier in the day, he took questions from the Washington press corps at a press conference. (Watch a video from the press conference here)
"For an English kid growing up in Liverpool, the White House - that's pretty special," McCartney said.
This is the first time McCartney has received a major lifetime achievement award from the U.S. government. In 2002, he was designated as one of the Kennedy Center Honorees, but he declined the award because he was not able to attend the ceremony that year.
The McCartney tribute concert entitled "Paul McCartney In Performance At The White House -- Library of Congress Gershwin Award" will air on PBS stations in the U.S. at 8 p.m. on July 28.
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