Paul McCartney honoured by President Barack Obama

The Telegraph

Paul McCartney honoured by President Barack Obama


3:06PM GMT 06 Dec 2010

Paul McCartney was the special guest at the White House last night at a reception by President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle ahead of the Kennedy Center honours.

McCartney - and other guests including Oprah Winfrey - were in Washington to receive the presitigious awards recognising lifetimes of work in music, theatre and television.

During the glittering reception President Obama made fun of McCartney, saying he had become "something of a regular here in the White House".

The former Beatle had been at the White House in June to accept the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
Obama also declared it the "thrill of a lifetime" that McCartney had sung the Beatles song 'Michelle' to first lady Michelle Obama at the summer reception.
McCartney was being recognised in the 33rd annual Kennedy Center Honors. Obama said McCartney joked after his appearance last night that he was worried the performance would make him the first man to get punched while receiving the award.

"I will say he was a little emotive," Obama said. "You have nothing to worry about. I just recovered from my last tussle on the basketball court."

Stars including Steven Tyler, No Doubt and Dave Grohl sang tributes to the Beatles legend. During the show, actor Alec Baldwin paid tribute to McCartney, telling the crowd, “His genius as a music maker is undisputed. But Paul also has a genius for life, and I think the two are related... Paul is kind, giving, thoughtful and funny.”

No Doubt then performed a medley of Beatles hits, while Grohl teamed up with Norah Jones for a duet of Maybe I’m Amazed, before Tyler also took the stage, after McCartney personally asked him to perform on his behalf.
Numerous celebrities were at the reception - the singer Diana Ross, actors Julia Roberts, Sydney Poitier and Alex Baldwin, television news host Barbara Walters and former tennis champion John McEnroe among them.

McCartney said earlier: "I must admit, someone had to tell me what an honor the Kennedy Center Honors were. Obviously, I would know it's connected with President Kennedy. That's an era and a president that we were fans of. You knew something was attached to it. But I had to be educated that this is the one, the big American honor. I don't think there could be anything more special than to play at the White House."

In the Kennedy awards, country singer and songwriter Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman, and dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones were also recognised in the annual celebration of the arts in Washington.

"Although the honorees on this stage each possess a staggering amount of talent, the truth is, they aren't being recognised simply because of their careers as great lyricists or songwriters or dancers or entertainers," Obama said at White House reception before the ceremony.

"Instead, they're being honored for their unique ability to bring us closer together and to capture something larger about who we are - not just as Americans, but as human beings."
"No one deserves this award more than Oprah Winfrey, but no one needs it less," comedian Chris Rock said to laughter from the audience.

He also poked fun at Winfrey's role in campaigning for Obama when he was a presidential candidate.
"He didn't get her a job, she got him a job," he said.

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