“Not Fade Away” was discontinued Kennedy Center Honors At this year's ceremony, the venerable The Grateful Dead used Buddy Holly's song For Enduring Love to close hundreds of concerts over the years.
A packed house danced to the bouncy tune Sunday night after a night of honoring the dead and other recipients of Lifetime Achievement Awards for artistic achievement: Director Francis Ford Coppola, jazz trumpeter arturo sandoval and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. venerable harlem theater Apollowhich launched generations of black artists was also recognized.
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Longtime Deadheads including actors Miles Teller and Chloë Sevigny and talk show host David Letterman paid tribute to the band's blend of musical experimentation, longevity, and community-building. Letterman declared, “His music fills the universe.”
The choice to honor the Apollo was unusual: it marked the first time the Kennedy Center had chosen to honor a specific performance venue.
“Apollo means a lot to so many of us,” Maryland Governor Wes Moore said as he arrived on the red carpet. Moore points to Lauryn Hill's iconic Apollo performance and the young Michael Jackson as treasured memories of her youth.
The tribute paid to The Apollo highlighted the wide variety of art forms displayed in the 90-year-old theatre. Savion Glover performed a spirited tap dance routine; Husband and wife duo The War and Treaty performed a medley of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's hits; And comedian Dave Chappelle described his first terrifying Apollo performance at age 15.
“Everyone started screaming. It felt like I was standing outside my body and watching,” he said. Chappelle was eventually carried off the stage by the theater's infamous “Sandman”, but he credited the experience with helping him overcome his fear of bombings.
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annual festival The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts always features individual tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists. The medals were presented during a traditional Saturday night ceremony at the State Department.
In the first tribute of the night, Emmylou Harris and Dave Matthews performed a cover of Raitt's duet with the late John Prine, “Angel from Montgomery”.
Music star Sheryl Crow paid tribute to Raitt's illustrious career not only as a singer or songwriter but as a widely respected blues guitarist in a male-dominated field.
“I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if I hadn't seen him perform when I was 17,” said Crowe, who bought his first guitar shortly after seeing Raitt in concert.
Raitt herself predicted an emotional evening on the red carpet before the event.
“I brought a big box of Kleenex and my waterproof eyeliner,” she laughed.
Coppola received tributes from past Kennedy Center honorees, including Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, Al Pacino and George Lucas. All described an iconoclastic and inspired writer who loved to nurture and support young filmmakers.
“What Francis does creatively is jump off cliffs,” Lucas said. “When you spend enough time with Francis, you start to believe you can jump off cliffs.”
Sandoval's tribute included several performances from an all-star band, including Trombone Shorty and pianist Chucho Valdez from Sandoval's original band, as well as a flamenco dance performance by Timo Núñez. It also included light-hearted comedy from actor Andy Garcia.
“When Arturo first came to America from Cuba all those years ago, he spoke very little English,” Garcia said. “But now his English… is very bad.”
Tribute performances are often kept secret from the recipients, most notably in 2018 when Cyndi Lauper lied to her longtime friend Cher about being unable to attend. Lauper appeared on stage to perform Cher's hit song, “If I Could Turn Back Time”.
At a ceremony at the White House before attending the awards ceremony, President Biden praised each honoree. He also stood up to De Niro, who was in the audience, and declared, “If I get in trouble, I'll come to you, buddy.”
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De Niro smiled and nodded and others in attendance, including the honorees, laughed at the way it seemed De Niro sometimes plays the tough enforcer in movies like “The Godfather.” But what Biden actually meant was that he could turn to the actor for career advice after his presidency.
“Things are not looking good for February,” Biden joked.
When Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were introduced at the Kennedy Center, the audience gave them a standing ovation. But this could be the last felicitation ceremony without political intrigue for some time.
During Donald Trump's first four years in office, Kennedy Center officials were forced to publicly walk a line between the president's tradition of attending the ceremony and the open dislike of Trump for many honorees. In 2017, recipient Norman Lear threatened to boycott his own ceremony if Trump attended. Trump, who took office in January, did not attend the ceremony during his first term.
On the red carpet Sunday night, several Democratic political figures appeared to offer an olive branch.
“I hope he comes,” Moore said. “It's a wonderful celebration of talent in all its forms.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “I think he'll really enjoy it.”
The 47th annual Kennedy Center Honors will air on CBS and stream on Paramount+ on December 22 at 8:30 pm Eastern with host Queen Latifah. The show will be live and on-demand for Paramount+ with Showtime subscribers or on-demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the special airs.