Billy Joel honored in DC at Gershwin Prize concertBy Mike Snider, USA TODAY
He's the Piano Man — but Billy Joel is also one particularly decorated man.
In a star-studded concert at DAR Constitution Hall, just blocks from the White House, Joel, 65, was honored Wednesday night with the Gershwin Prize, awarded by the Library of Congress to composers and performers for their lifetime contribution to popular music. (The concert will air on PBS stations nationally at 9 p.m. on Jan. 2.)
In good company: Tony Bennett, John Mellencamp, Boyz II Men, Gavin DeGraw, Josh Groban, Natalie Maines, LeAnn Rimes and Kevin Spacey were all on hand to celebrate the music legend, while Barbra Streisand, James Taylor and past Gershwin winner Paul McCartney appeared in video greetings. "You are such a treasure, a national treasure," Taylor said of Joel.
"I'm flabbergasted to be included in this group," Joel said in a pre-recorded clip during the show. "I haven't quite got my head around it yet." Joel, as the sixth top-selling artist of all time, is no stranger to accolades. Earlier this week, he was among five artists honored in New York with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers' Centennial Awards at a gala at New York's Waldorf Astoria.
Inside the Beltway: Joel watched the ceremony flanked by Librarian of Congress James Billington, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Master of ceremonies Spacey, who plays a conniving politician on the Netflix series House of Cards, welcomed members of Congress. "I think even a man like Frank Underwood would be excited about a night like tonight."
Slow it down: R&B crooners Boyz II Men delivered a resonant a cappella version of
The Longest Time, and waved to Joel as they departed. An earnest, elegant rendition of
Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel) by a luminescent Rimes mesmerized the packed crowd to silence.
Put your hands together: After Rimes' solemn treatment, DeGraw got the crowd clapping — and made first use of the band — to a muscular version of
It's Still Rock and Roll to Me from Joel's
Glass Houses (1980), the singer/songwriter's seven-times-platinum answer to the then-rising new wave.
Singing for something: Following Maines' belting of a countrified
She's Got a Way, Mellencamp served up a stripped-down
Allentown, a song about the sagging hopes of Pennsylvania steelworkers. "I bet you all didn't know Billy was a protest singer," Mellencamp said. "He was, and he is, and we are going to prove it right here."
Just dance: Earlier in the night, a dance ensemble from producer and choreographer Twyla Tharp's Tony Award-winning
Movin' Out, featuring songs from Joel's extensive catalog, performed a lively number to a medley from the musical. Tharp said Joel "never wavered" on letting her create dance interpretations of his music.
NYC to D.C.: Iconic vocalist Tony Bennett had the crowd cheering mid-song with the chorus of
New York State of Mind and earned a standing ovation after his strong delivery. "Billy, congratulations!" he hollered to Joel, who had left his seat to prepare for his own performance.
Honoring a legend: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy joined Billington onstage to present the award, along with Pelosi and Sotomayor, who introduced Joel as "Long Island's favorite son, even if he is a Mets fan."
Old songs, new hardware: Before ripping into his own version of
Movin' Out at the end of the night, Joel placed the award on his piano and buffed it, then took his place at the keyboard. "It's been a hell of a year," he said. "A bounty of blessings. I want to ensure everyone I don't have a terminal illness. And don't intend to have one for a long time." Following
Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway) and
You May Be Right, Spacey emerged. "Billy, we took a poll backstage, and the consensus is that you left one song out."
As Joel began
Piano Man, Spacey helped out on harmonica, while other performers joined in. And as Spacey had the willing audience sing along to the final chorus, another crowd forgot about life for awhile.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/11/19/billy-joel-gershwin-prize-concert/19254709/
