By April MacIntyre Dec 23, 2008, 2:09 GMT
In an historic acknowledgement of the depth of British rock influence in American culture, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has selected founding members of legendary British rock band The Who, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, to be among the distinguished honorees who will receive the Kennedy Center Honors of 2008.
Members of British rock band The Who Pete Townshend, left, and Roger Daltrey after posing for the formal group photo following the Artist's Dinner at the United States Department of State to honor 2008 recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., USA, 06 December 2008. The 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors awards are given for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. EPA/Ron Sachs
On Sunday, December 7th, in a star-studded celebration on the Kennedy Center Opera House stage, the remaining two members of one of rock's most vital and influential musical forces will be joined by four other recipients to be honored at the 31st annual national celebration of the arts: actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, director, actress, singer, writer, composer and producer Barbra Streisand, and choreographer Twyla Tharp.
The recognition of The Who will mark the first time a rock band has ever received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor. Previous British honorees include, Elton John, Elizabeth Taylor, Cary Grant, among others. The 2008 honorees will be seated with the President of the United States and Mrs. Bush, accepting the thanks of their peers and fans through performances and heartfelt tributes.
“As the heart and soul of the seminal band The Who, songwriters and singers Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey transformed the sights and sounds of rock and roll," stated Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman.
"This is a great thrill," stated Mr. Townshend. "Since the Who began in the early '60s we have loved American music and audiences and have made deep and lasting friendships with everyone involved in the industry there. Roger and I both feel our work in the United States has been as important as our work at home. Because our medium rock music is quintessentially American music with broad and deep international and multicultural roots, this honour is especially meaningful to us Brits."
Mr. Daltrey also commented: "As a teenager growing up in the austerity of post-war England, it was the music I heard emanating from America that gave me a dream to hang my life on. To make music and make it there. I am deeply touched at receiving this honour, the warmth and affection I feel from our US audience is humbling indeed. To be added to the list of past recipients of this award makes that dream come true."
Singer Bettye LaVette stole the thunder at the Kennedy Center Honors with her gut-wrenching performance of The Who’s “Love Reign O’er Me,” which provided one of the evening’s most spectacular moments and inspired other honorees and musicians to speak out in praise of her.
The annual Honors Gala tops the cultural year, and its broadcast on CBS is a high point of the holiday television season.
The Honors Gala will be recorded for broadcast on the CBS Network for the 31st consecutive year as a two-hour prime time special on Tuesday, December 30 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).
The 2008 Honorees will be saluted by performers from New York, Hollywood, Nashville, and the arts capitals of the world. The President and Mrs. Bush will receive the Honorees and members of the Artists Committee, who nominate them, along with the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees at the White House prior to the gala performance.
The Who were inducted into the Rock n’ roll Hall of Fame in 1990; their incendiary style and poignant storytelling garnered them one of rock’s most loyal followings, bursting onto the scene in the mid-1960’s.
The Who have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide, including the 1969 groundbreaking rock opera Tommy, 1971’s pummeling Live At Leeds, 1973’s Quadrophenia, 1978’s Who Are You, and their final studio album 1982’s It’s Hard, their last full length CD of original material before their recently acclaimed Endless Wire, their first album in more than two decades.
The Who were awarded the inaugural Freddie Mercury Achievement In Live Music Award at the 2006 Vodaphone Live Music Awards, held at the legendary Roundhouse In Camden, in London England, as well as being honored at the VH1 Rock Honors this past July at UCLA's Pauley Pavillion.
The Annual Kennedy Center Honors Telecast has been honored with five Emmy’s for Outstanding Program and is nominated again this year. It has also been recognized with the Peabody Award for Outstanding Contribution to Television and seven awards from the Writers Guild of America.
The award ceremony will be aired Dec. 30th on CBS. Coinciding with this honor, The Who At Kilburn: 1977 is now available on DVD & Blu-Ray from Image Entertainment.
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