Since the presidency changed hands less than six weeks ago, a burst of entertaining has taken hold of the iconic, white-columned home of America's head of state. Much of it comes on Wednesdays.
The stately East Room, where portraits of George and Martha Washington adorn the walls, was transformed into a concert hall as President Barack Obama presented Stevie Wonder with the nation's highest award for pop music on Wednesday.
President Barack Obama thanked Stevie Wonder for creating "a style that's uniquely American" as he presented the singer-songwriter the nation's highest award for pop music.
"As Stevie knows, I'm a huge fan. And he has been a great supporter," Obama said before presenting the award-winning, singer-songwriter with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress.
Obama, who called Wonder the soundtrack of his youth, gave the star the Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during an East Room tribute Wednesday that featured Tony Bennett, Martina McBride and Wonder himself. The president joked that the group was "the most accomplished Stevie Wonder cover band in history."
Obama presented the medal to Wonder, then wrapped the singer in a bear hug. As the media were led out of the room, Wonder struck up "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours," which was a staple of Obama's campaign rallies.
Wonder was emotional at times, thanking Obama for the award and reflecting on what his election as the first black president means to the United States.
"What is truly exciting for me today is that we truly have lived to see a time and a space where America has a chance to again live up to the greatness that it deserves to be seen and known as, through the love and caring and the commitment of a president as in our president, Barack Obama," he said.
Wonder cited Martin Luther King Jr., his faith and his mother during an acceptance speech that flowed into a set of Obama's favorite songs. The Grammy-winning musician he has 25 of the awards joked that he looked forward to writing more love songs perhaps a soundtrack for "you know, maybe I'll be a part of creating some more of those babies."
Obama praised Wonder's decades-long career and a style that has blended pop and funk, R&B and gospel.
"Stevie has always drawn on the incredible range of traditions in his music and, from that, he's created a style that's at once uniquely American, uniquely his own, and yet somehow universal," Obama said. "Indeed, this could be called the American tradition artists demonstrating the courage, the talent to find new harmonies in the rich and dissonant sounds of the American experience."
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