Carole King to receive the Gershwin Prize

Carole King will be presented with the Gershwin Prize on Wednesday night at the White House, part of a two night celebration of her music.

The Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honors "the work of an artist whose career reflects lifetime achievement in promoting song as a vehicle of musical expression and cultural understanding." King is the fifth recipient of the award and is the first female honoree.

When announced last last year, Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said "Carole King has been one of the most influential songwriters of our time. 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."

On Tuesday night, King will be honored at an invitation-only concert at the Library's Coolidge Auditorium with performances by Patti Austin, Colbie Caillat, Michael Feinstein, Siedah Garrett, Louise Goffin, Shelby Lynne, Gian Marco, Arturo Sandoval and a special performance by honoree King.

The next night, President Barack Obama and the first lady will host "Carole King: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize In Performance at the White House" as part of their "In Performance at the White House" series. The award will be presented to Carole by President Obama and the program will include performances by King, as well as Gloria Estefan, Billy Joel, Jesse McCartney, Emeli Sandé, James Taylor and Trisha Yearwood.

The event will be streamed live at www.whitehouse.gov/live starting at 7 PM ET.

Previous honorees have been Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

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