When The Beatles were storming America, Oprah Winfrey had the band’s poster on her bedroom wall, Merle Haggard was free from prison, Jerry Herman was making Broadway sing and Bill T. Jones was not yet a dancer but growing up in a migrant labour camp.
On Sunday, these leading artists who followed divergent paths since the 1960s joined Paul McCartney to receive the Kennedy Centre Honours. They heard accolades from US President Barack Obama.
“Although the honorees on this stage each possess a staggering amount of talent, the truth is, they aren’t being recognised tonight simply because of their careers as great lyricists or songwriters or dancers or entertainers,” Obama said. “Instead, they’re being honoured 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.”
Stars also were performing as part of the nation’s top prize for those who define US culture through the arts. The president and first lady Michelle Obama had arrived and former Secretary of State Colin Powell was sitting with them in their box.
Gwen Stefani and her band, No Doubt, performed the Beatles’ Hello, Goodbye.
“It’s so hard doing someone else’s song, especially a genius,” Stefani said.
Diverse genres
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted a dinner on Saturday for the honorees, along with visiting celebrities, including Stefani, Julia Roberts, Claire Danes, Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. The guests also included veteran entertainers Carol Channing, Angela Lansbury and Sidney Poitier.
Clinton marvelled at the diverse “genres and generations” of artists.
“I am writing a cable about it, which I’m sure you’ll find soon on your closest website,” she joked after a week of dealing with fallout from the WikiLeaks release of confidential diplomatic dispatches.
She also confessed to “several waves of teen girl hysteria” over The Beatles during her youth. Clinton said McCartney’s life had connected people around the world.
Channing said she was excited to perform for Herman.
“He’s going to cry, I just know it,” said Channing.
The former Beatle, making his second visit to Washington this year for a culture award, said the admiration is mutual. In June, he won the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.
“You know, great things just come in bundles,” he said. “I am a big fan of this president, and I think he’s a great man whose got some difficulties. ... I’m very honoured to be with him and his family, and I’m also a big fan of Hillary’s, too.”
For Winfrey, the prize comes during the 25th and final season of her talk show and just before she launches her new cable network, OWN, on January 1.
“You know what’s interesting is she spends her life celebrating others, but when it comes time for her, she’s very reluctant really,” Winfrey’s best friend Gayle King said.
King said it was a fitting tribute for Winfrey as a communicator, actress, producer and humanitarian.
“They’re recognising her whole body of work,” King said. “She’s not just a talk show host.”
Winfrey was one of the first to support Obama in his presidential run.
“What can I say about our final honoree. Michelle and I love Oprah Winfrey, personally love this woman,” he said. “And the more you know Oprah the more spectacular you realise her character and her soul are, the more you appreciate what a wonderful gifted person she is.”
At the State Department, the ornate Benjamin Franklin room was a swirl of Hollywood, Nashville, New York and Washington power players, including President Bill Clinton.
Art and politics
Roberts said it was both exciting and nerve-wracking. She said the mix of art and politics “can converge in a very interesting way, so when it’s done right, it’s really exciting.”
After the honours were announced in September, Jones, the son of potato pickers, said he could recall dreaming of big things as a 9-year-old boy in upstate New York.
He went on to create the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982 after college with his late partner Arnie Zane. His work has tackled racism, Aids and other tough issues, sometimes sparking outrage.
Jones said he’s often felt like an outsider, yet he’s being honoured for helping to shape the country.
“Someone asked me last night how I feel and it was Julia Roberts,” Jones said. “I feel as if it’s a dream and I’m speaking to Julia Roberts.”
Opera singer Jessye Norman, who toasted Jones’ work on Saturday, said she admired him for being brave enough to stand alone at times in his advocacy on social and political issues.
“I can feel the love,” Jones said of the honour, adding that he was thrilled to be receiving the award while Obama is president. Still, he said he is discouraged by the country’s direction. “I am trembling a little bit, actually. The discourse is so poisonous.”
In recent years, Jones has shared his talents with Broadway, winning Tony awards for his choreography in Spring Awakening and this year for his show Fela!, playing currently in New York and London. He said he hopes more artists will bridge the gap between the dance world and mainstream theatre.
“We don’t want to be marginalised anymore,” he said. “Indifference is worse than dislike.”
