Artists get a star-studded salute
By Karen Thomas, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The sounds of country, Motown, Broadway and classical music combined with Hollywood star power in the nation's capital Sunday for the Kennedy Center Honors.
Stars from across the entertainment industry turned out. Among them: Tom Hanks, Liam Neeson, Reese Witherspoon, Aretha Franklin, India Arie, Jessica Simpson, Shania Twain, Reba McEntire and Josh Groban.
They gathered to pay tribute to director Steven Spielberg, country's Dolly Parton, Motown's Smokey Robinson, Broadway composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and conductor Zubin Mehta. The stars joined President Bush and first lady Laura Bush for the 29th awards ceremony, in which the Kennedy Center recognizes artists for their lifetime contribution to the arts and to American culture. The two-hour gala in the center's opera house was taped to air Dec. 26 on CBS (9 p.m. ET/PT).
Witherspoon and Simpson were there to honor fellow blonde Parton. Simpson relied heavily on cue cards to perform 9 to 5 and missed a few lines.
"Dolly, you make me so nervous I can't even sing the words right," Simpson said before leaving the stage.
Witherspoon fared a little better with the same Parton tune just moments earlier. The Walk the Line Oscar winner warbled several lines of 9 to 5 a cappella before giggling, "Someone else will sing this better later."
The show featured plenty of musical numbers. Parton also was celebrated by a duet from American Idol's Carrie Underwood and Kenny Rogers, who sang Islands in the Stream.
Another duo, Hanks and Neeson, paid tribute to Spielberg. Hanks introduced five World War II veterans and a Holocaust survivor during the show. Renee Firestone, the Holocaust survivor, emphasized the importance of the work of the director of Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. "Thank you, Steven, for what you have done for history. You are our hero."
Webber said the Kennedy Center award was better than a Grammy or an Oscar because "it's not connected to any of the industry." His former wife, Sarah Brightman, introduced the segment honoring him. When Broadway star Betty Buckley paid tribute by singing Memory from Webber's Cats, the audience responded with a standing ovation.
During the segment honoring Robinson, which was introduced by Franklin, Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley and Arie sang Going to a Go-Go, and Sam Moore and Jonny Lang performed Tracks of My Tears.
Robinson spoke earlier about receiving the honor: "It means everything to me," because the award is "for your impact on society."
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