Carole King: The Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance At The White House

This series of performance specials at the White House presents the best of American performing arts. From the Broadway musical to opera, country and western, gospel, ballet, jazz and more, the series has featured the extraordinary richness of American music and dance.

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“Carole King: The Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance At The White House” is a PBS music special in the East Room of the White House. President and Mrs. Obama will host the concert event on May 22, 2013 in honor of singer-songwriter Carole King’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

The evening will include performances by King, as well as by Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood. President Obama will present the Gershwin Prize to King during the event.

The sixty-minute television special is part of the Emmy Award-nominated PBS IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE series. The program will premiere Tuesday, May 28 on PBS stations nationwide.

The program will also be broadcast at a later date via the American Forces Network to American service men and women and civilians at U.S. Department of Defense locations around the world.

The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song is named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin. This award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world’s culture. The prize is given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins.

The first Gershwin Prize was awarded to Paul Simon in May 2007, the second to Stevie Wonder in February 2009, the third to Sir Paul McCartney in June 2010, and the fourth to the songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David in May 2012.

This will be the first time the Gershwin Prize honor has been presented to a woman. An iconic creative force, King is more than a half century into her singular career as a songwriter, performer and author. A universally renowned and beloved figure, she is known for such enduring hits as “You’ve Got a Friend,” “So Far Away,” “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” and “I Feel the Earth Move.”

King wrote her first hit at age 17, penning “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” for the Shirelles with then-husband Gerry Goffin. The dozens of chart hits Goffin and King wrote during this period have become part of music legend, including “Take Good Care of My Baby,” “The Loco-Motion” and “Up on the Roof.”

It was King’s breakout 1971 album "Tapestry" that took her to the pinnacle, and remains one of the best-selling records of all time. It spoke personally to her contemporaries and provided the spiritual musical backdrop to the decade. The album’s success established King as an influential force in the industry and she built a legacy of deeply personal communication through song that endures today.

To date, more than 400 of her compositions have been recorded by more than 1,000 artists — including The Beatles, Mary J. Blige, Barbra Streisand, James Taylor and Aretha Franklin — and resulted in 100 hit singles.

In 2007, King and Taylor recorded six performances that were documented in the GRAMMY Award-nominated, GOLD-certified "Live at the Troubadour" CD and DVD, released in 2010 and inspiring the pair’s sold-out world tour, as well as a feature-length documentary that premiered on PBS.

Among her many honors, King was the first woman to win four GRAMMY Awards in a single year, and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. King has also written songs for movie soundtracks, and, in April 2012, King’s memoir, "A Natural Woman," debuted on the New York Times bestseller list.

“Carole King: The Library Of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance At The White House” will be the eleventh IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE program during President Barack Obama’s administration.

Visit Carole King's official website to read her bio, explore her music, view photos, watch videos and more. Carole King is on Facebook, follow @Carole_King on Twitter and on Pinterest.