Paul McCartney to Perform at White House, Receive Gershwin Award

Paul McCartney, who with John Lennon wrote the songs that helped the Beatles' change the face of rock-and-roll, will perform at the White House on June 2 at the invitation of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

McCartney, one of two surviving Beatles (the other is Ringo Starr), will be awarded the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song from the Library of Congress, a honor that commemorates the legendary songwriting of George and Ira Gershwin. He is the third recipient of the award, following Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon. The McCartney concert will be broadcast July 28 on PBS.

McCartney, originally from Liverpool, England, co-wrote with Lennon songs such as "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," "When I'm Sixty-Four," "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "Here Comes the Sun" -- to name only a few. He went on to a successful solo career after the Beatles broke up in the early 1970s. Among those scheduled to join in the East Room concert are Wonder, blues rocker Jack White, folk artist Emmy Lou Harris and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.

No word on the Obamas' favorite Beatles album. (We're betting on "Rubber Soul.")



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