UPDATE: Latest on celebrity guests at White House concert
Paul McCartney is to be honored with the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song at the White House in a special ceremony by President Barack Obama. McCartney will also perform in the White House with some of the musicians and perfomers that he has influenced.
A 90-minute program featuring the award and the concert, "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. ET July 28. (Note: Since air times on PBS are not uniform across the country, you should check with your local station for the exact airdate and time.) Those expected to join him in the concert include previous Gershwin Award winners Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, plus Elvis Costello and Dave Grohl.
"As a great admirer of the Gershwins’ songs, I am highly honored to be given the Gershwin Prize by such a great institution as the Library of Congress," McCartney said in a press release announcing the award.
"It is hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres than Paul McCartney," said Librarian of Congress James H. Billington, who made the selection. The advisory committee for this year's award consisted of Rickey Minor, Carol Bayer Sager, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb and Paul Williams.
The prize commemorates George and Ira Gershwin, the American songwriting team whose extensive manuscript collections reside in the Library of Congress. It is awarded to musicians whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins. The Gershwin Prize is also meant to draw attention to the musical collections in the Library of Congress, especially the vast popular-music collection, and to encourage students, teachers, scholars and researchers to use this free public resource in their scholarly investigations.
McCartney is the third recipient of the award. The first was awarded in May 2007 to Paul Simon, with the second going to Stevie Wonder on Feb. 25, 2009. Both tribute concerts were broadcast nationally on PBS and featured musical performances by Tony Bennett, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Marc Anthony, Martina McBride, Diana Krall, Will.i.am, and Art Garfunkel among others. Stevie Wonder’s prize festivities also included the performance of a special commission, "Sketches of a Life," in the Library’s Coolidge Auditorium.
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Comments
Ebony and Ivory live, anyone?
What would McCartney be without Lennon? Wouldn't it be the proper thing to award John posthumously? And are both Rimgo & George chopped liver? It was wrong for Paul to be knighted without including the other three Beatles & it's equally as wrong to bestow honors of this magnitude upon him without taking into acount that his career might never have happened without his three mates to back him up. Shame on the Library of Congress advisory committee for being so narrow-minded!
All my apologies to Richard Starkey, the one and only beat of my heart. I'm such a lousy typist...that should be "RINGO" not Rimgo. I'm truly ashamed. Forgive me?!
I don't agree with Carol L here. You can't seriously say that Ringo is as talented as Paul (as much as I love Richie). As for George he had his moments, but everyone knows that the two great Beatles were John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Paul is the most successul songwriter of all time, check the Guiness Book, John is the second most successful. I don't see how Paul being rewarded for his work is wrong, the three others are also regularly honored, wasn't George awarded a star on the Walk of Fame? Wasn't Ringo ? The Gershwin Prize is for songwriters, if you say that Ringo deserves it as much as Paul, then you are delusional! George was a great songwriter, John and Paul were (is, in Maccas case) genious songwriters but Ringo was and is not a songwriter. So yes, Paul is the one who will get the award but I hardly think the place of the other three in pantheon of music is threatened, and don't worry Mac won't miss the opportuny to thank and pay tribute to his friends, like he always does.
Geez, they'e some hateful people here. Why would anyone object to this award for Paul or try and make it a Paul vs. John thing. It isn't. John isn't here anymore. That's a fact. So he can't be honored in this way. We can't change that. The Beatles don't exist anymore. We can't change that either. Paul IS here. Paul would have been a Kennedy Center Honoree a few years ago had he not first accepted then said he couldn't attend! (One doesn't do that, Paul. You got bad acvice on that one. They then selected Paul Simon in Paul's place. They won't be getting back to Paul on that honor again. Trust me.) I can't think of anyone on this Earth that deserves the Gershwin Prize more than Paul McCartney. That's a fact. Way to go, Paul!!!
Boy, alleged Beatles fans sure do find silly things to complain about. Paul didn't knight himself. And he didn't award this Library of Congress honor to himself. If you're suggesting he should refuse any and all honors that don't also mention Lennon? That's ridiculous. Paul's success as a songwriter includes 30 years of music created since Lennon's death, and 40 years of music since the Beatles broke up. Don't go looking for slights where there are none. Paul deserves this honor, and if the Library of Congress wants to honor Lennon and Harrison, it should do so as well.
So Paul can't get the Gershwin prize because John doesn't too? How ridiculous is that! Go back to see who wrote what in those old interviews and Paul wrote a fair amount of those songs during the Beatles with little or no help from John once John moved to the burbs. Carol L, you are being narrowminded when you say that Paul could not achieve this award on his own without John.
If John were still with us I'm sure they would have given him one too. Alas they do not give this award posthumously.
I just want to know why is Dave Grohl in there? I mean he's talented and all but, Jeeeeeeeez.
Because Dave Grohl is a good bud of Paul's and played on the Gramyy show with Paul a ciouple of years ago...."I Saw Her Standing There." Didn't you see him bashing away at the drum kit??? Abe was unavailaable at the time. Dave has been greatly influenced by Paul...and The Beatles.
Now Carol you've gone and ticked off the Beatles Nazis! How dare you have an independent, critical thought.
I hate my rock stars playing for Kings and Presidents, by the way. I pray Paul doesn't do "Sing The Changes" and flash that election image of Obama. That is so November 2008. I guess it would be relevant though for this one term President as to 2012.
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