The President and First Lady recently paid tribute to singer-songwriter Carole King in the East Room of the White House. They hosted a concert honoring her extraordinary musical career. This concert which will air on WLRN TV was "Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House". President Obama presented the award as he did when the Library of Congress honored Stevie Wonder (2009), Sir Paul McCartney (2010), and the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David (2012). The Library of Congress announced in late 2012 that Carole King had been named the 2013 recipient of the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song; the first woman to receive the distinction given to songwriters for a body of work.
"Carole King has been one of the most influential songwriters of our time," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "For more than five decades, she has written for and been recorded by many different types of artists for a wide range of audiences, communicating with beauty and dignity the universal human emotions of love, joy, pain and loss. Her body of work reflects the spirit of the Gershwin Prize with its originality, longevity and diversity of appeal."
In the same statement, Carole said, "I was so pleased when the venerable Library of Congress began honoring writers of popular music with the Gershwin Prize. I’m proud to be the fifth such honoree and the first woman among such distinguished company. I look forward to performing in the nation’s capital."
“Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize in Performance at the White House “ airs on WLRN Public Television Saturday, July 27 at 8 p.m.
