McCartney wins Gershwin songwriter prize
Last Updated: Monday, November 16, 2009 | 1:03 PM ET
CBC News
Music legend Paul McCartney, seen at right performing in Halifax with lead guitar Rusty Anderson in July, has been named the third winner of the fledgling Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)Paul McCartney will be honoured with a fledgling but prestigious musical honour, after being named Monday as the latest recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.
The U.S. Library of Congress, which administers the honour, announced the 67-year-old British musician and former Beatle as its third winner of the songwriting prize on Monday.
"It is hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres than Paul McCartney," Librarian of Congress James H. Billington said in a statement.
Billington selected McCartney after discussion with entertainment industry leaders.
The Library of Congress houses the George and Ira Gershwin Collection, a vast resource of musical manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, other documents and memorabilia that originally belonged to the famed songwriting brothers.
"As a great admirer of the Gershwins' songs, I am highly honoured to be given the Gershwin Prize by such a great institution," McCartney said.
Organizers will celebrate McCartney with a star-studded tribute concert being planned for spring 2010, with a line-up of performers to be announced later.
First awarded in 2007, the Gershwin Prize was created by Bob Peter and Bob Kaminsky, Mark Krantz and Cappy McGarr — who also created the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The first two Gershwin Prize recipients were musical icons Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.
With files from The Associated PressShare Tools
- Glee's 'unintentional' tribute to Whitney Houstonby Arts Online Feb. 15, 2012 5:40 PM When Glee included a rendition of I Will Always Love You, sung by Amber Riley (Mercedes), in its Valentine's Day episode, it was pure serendipity. The performance had been planned as one of several songs celebrating love and, after Whitney Houston's untimely death Saturday, the network added a line of tribute to the woman who made the song famous.
Top News Headlines
- Tories move to curb 'bogus' refugees
- The Conservative government is poised to change the refugee system yet again in an attempt to deter what it considers "bogus" claimants, CBC News has learned. more »
- Children of immigrants challenged at school, home
- By 2016, foreign-born youth and Canadian-born youth from immigrant families will make up a quarter of the country's population, according to predictions by the Canadian Council on Social Development. As their numbers grow, more attention is being paid to their successes and failures. more »
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Two NDP MPs broke party ranks to vote with the government in the final House of Commons vote on scrapping the long-gun registry. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- Two teenagers cried as they testified at the trial of a B.C. woman who was charged after a teen died while her son was hosting a party at her house in 2008. more »
Latest Arts & Entertainment News Headlines
- Hudson Bay Co. archives includes film treasure trove
- A Hudson's Bay Co. collection of films from the early 20th century showing fur-trading life in the North has been transferred back to Winnipeg and is to be screened at the Archives of Manitoba. more »
- Missing Karel Appel works found in British warehouse
- More than 400 works by Dutch artist Karel Appel have been discovered in a British storage warehouse a decade after they went missing. more »
- Montreal museum offers reward after artifact theft
- Quebec police are seeking the recovery of two ancient artifacts stolen from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts last fall, with a substantial reward offered. more »
- The Artist, Hugo spotlight film preservation
- While The Artist and Hugo are showered with attention ahead of the upcoming Academy Awards, cinema experts say the movies are also shining a much-needed spotlight on the issue of film preservation. more »
Q Blog
The great monogamy debate Feb. 15, 2012 1:41 PM Is it time to start taking alternatives to monogamy seriously in our culture? Listen in to the Q debate and let us know what you think.
CBC Books
- Choosing a Valentine's Day gift for the book lover in your life Feb. 15, 2012 2:45 PM CBC Books' Erin Balser and her partner, Matt Elliott, on the challenge of giving your sweetheart a book for Valentine's Day.
- Drummond report on Ontario calls for cutbacks
- Barefoot girl's icy trek not blamed on babysitter
- 2 NDP MPs back final Commons vote to kill gun registry
- Immigrants the proudest Canadians, poll suggests
- Honduras prison fire kills hundreds
- Bodyguard hired for bully victim in Fredericton
- Canadian housing market cools in January
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Russians' abusive plane tirade to cost them $19K
