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Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and Arturo Sandoval were among those revealed as the 47th Kennedy Center honorees.
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts named rock icons Grateful Dead, acclaimed singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt and legendary jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval among this year’s honorees, who will receive the 47th Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements. The Apollo Theater will also be recognized during the December ceremony, which will take place on Dec. 8th and later air on CBS on Dec. 23.
Coppola is known for his work on The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, and he also produces wine and runs the literary magazine Zoetrope: All-Story. Bonnie Raitt has been awarded 13 Grammy awards and has made a name for herself as a social activist, while Arturo Sandoval received President Obama’s Presidential Medal of Freedom among numerous other awards. The Grateful Dead has already been recognized with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions.
Kennedy Center Chairman David M. Rubenstein shared in a statement: “The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes artists who have made an extraordinary impact on the cultural life of our nation and continue to have an immeasurable influence on new generations.” Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter added: “Our honorees this year have each played an invaluable, pioneering role in developing American culture. Not with one act of art but with their decades-long devotion to pushing creative boundaries. In December, we are thrilled to pay special tribute to New York City’s renowned Apollo Theater on its 90th anniversary. Throughout its history, The Apollo has guided us and the world forward by discovering and nurturing raw talent, molding a unique cultural identity that defines American culture still today.”
Surviving Grateful Dead members Phil Lesh, 84, Mickey Hart, 80, Bill Kreutzmann, 78, and Bob Weir, 76, wrote in a collective statement: “It goes without saying that the Kennedy Center Honors represents the highest of reaches for artistic achievement. To be recognized alongside the artists who have in the past received this honor is beyond humbling. The Grateful Dead has always been about community, creativity, and exploration in music and presentation. We’ve always felt that the music we make embodies and imparts something beyond the notes and phrases being played — and that is something we are privileged to share with all who are drawn to what we do — so it also must be said that our music belongs as much to our fans, the Dead Heads, as it does to us. This honor, then, is as much theirs as ours.” Acknowledging their almost 60-year journey, the musicians also said that they’re “beyond grateful for this recognition .. Thank you, Kennedy Center, and to all the folks who had a hand in bringing us here, for this incredible honor.”
Coppola, 85, said in a statement: “I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to collaborate with great artists and wonderful people throughout my career, and I have never stopped learning. There is no greater honor than to be included along with those who inspired me, who I looked up to, and who gave me encouragement when times were dim. I am grateful to the Kennedy Center, my beloved colleagues, to those who equate beauty and truth, and to all the children of the world.”
Raitt, 74, wrote in a statement: “I am deeply honored and thrilled to have been chosen to receive one of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors. I have long been an admirer of the awards and have been so blessed to be able to participate in several shows honoring others. There is no higher level of esteem nor as delightful a celebration, and I want to extend my sincere thanks to all who have chosen me to receive this honor. I look forward to the upcoming ceremony and festivities, which I know will be one of my life’s peak experiences.”
The 47th Kennedy Center Honors will take place at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington D.C. on Sunday, Dec. 8, and will later broadcast on CBS on Dec. 23. The ceremony will also stream on Paramount+.
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