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Led Zeppelin to receive Kennedy Center Honor


Janvier

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Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova, and Led Zeppelin to Receive 35th Annual Kennedy Center Honors

America to Celebrate the Careers of Seven Extraordinary Artists, Sunday, December 2, 2012

Gala will be broadcast on CBS on December 26, 2012 at 9:00-11:00 p.m., ET/PT

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced the selection of the seven individuals who will receive the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors. Recipients to be honored at the 35th annual national celebration of the arts are: bluesman Buddy Guy, actor Dustin Hoffman, comedian and television host David Letterman, ballerina Natalia Makarova, and rock band Led Zeppelin. While Led Zeppelin is being honored as a band, keyboardist/bassist John Paul Jones, guitarist Jimmy Page, and singer Robert Plant will each receive the Kennedy Center Honors.

http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/

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From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/arts/12honors.html

One also unwritten but unbending rule of the Kennedy Center Honors is that you have to show up. The event is a major fund-raiser for the center; tickets to the gala, which will be on Dec. 5, can cost as much as $5,000. And through the television broadcast, which takes place roughly three weeks later, the Honors are also a major part of the Kennedy Center’s national profile. So snagging honorees with some celebrity has obvious benefits.

Mr. Stevens said he pursued Katharine Hepburn for several years before she finally agreed to be honored.

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They actually do have to be there. The Ken-Cen won't give them the award unless they agree to attend.

This is sooooo exciting! The entire slate of awardees is fabulous!! My brothers-in-law work there...wonder if I can get a backstage pass... :D

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That will be interesting to see.......I really hope (the presentation) does justice to their legacy, and comes up with something more creative than having "Stairway" (typical) playing in the background during the short "documentary" segment, before awarding them with the honors.

And I agree with you Melcore, it would be proper to award the Bonham family as well.

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What a wonderful honor, traditionally only given to American Artists or to artists from other nations who have had a huge impact in the United States.

Dec. 26th on CBS set your DVRs!

Jimmy in a tux, hopefully with an elegant scarf!!!

:) sigh! Lol!

Should be a great show!

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From the New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/arts/12honors.html

One also unwritten but unbending rule of the Kennedy Center Honors is that you have to show up. The event is a major fund-raiser for the center; tickets to the gala, which will be on Dec. 5, can cost as much as $5,000. And through the television broadcast, which takes place roughly three weeks later, the Honors are also a major part of the Kennedy Center’s national profile. So snagging honorees with some celebrity has obvious benefits.

Mr. Stevens said he pursued Katharine Hepburn for several years before she finally agreed to be honored.

Good to know. Thanks.

And I also agree that the Bonham family should and must be included.

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Well, I'm guessing this will be part of the big announcement tomorrow...a double-whammy, if you will.

Hahaha, it's like feast or famine with our boys...2007 brought the TSRTS remasters AND the Concert of the Century! Now five years of drought and it's a flood of Led Zeppelin. Hallelujah!!!

Oh, and I'm sure the Kennedy Center Honors peeps will have the Bonham family there...I think Robert and the lads would insist on it.

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I might be wrong, but I don't think the award recipients perform. Others pay tribute/play their music on stage (maybe someone can back me up on this, it's been a while since I watched one of those things).

I do know they get to wear fancy medals around their necks and sit on a balcony type place with the president etc. etc.

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I might be wrong, but I don't think the award recipients perform. Others pay tribute/play their music on stage (maybe someone can back me up on this, it's been a while since I watched one of those things).

I do know they get to wear fancy medals around their necks and sit on a balcony type place with the president etc. etc.

That's the way I remember it too, I remember Paul McCartney sitting in the box while Steven Tyler and Dave Grohl (I think) serenaded him with his own tunes...

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That's the way I remember it too, I remember Paul McCartney sitting in the box while Steven Tyler and Dave Grohl (I think) serenaded him with his own tunes...

Yep...that's how it is. The recipients sit up on high in their 'black tie' and receive tribute from others.

I get a sneaking suspicion that Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters will be involved in Zeppelin's segment....perhaps even Jeff Beck, too.

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From Wiki:

The weekend-long ceremony consists of lunch, dinner, reception and a performance introducing and honoring the new Honorees. The lunch is on Saturday at the Kennedy Center, with a welcoming speech by the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. At that evening's reception and dinner at the State Department, presided over by the Secretary of State, the year's Honorees are introduced. On Sunday, there is an early evening White House reception with the President of the United States, who will then hang a specially designed ribboned award around their necks.

The performance takes place Sunday evening at the Opera House in the Kennedy Center. The Honorees (wearing their medals) and guests sit in the front of the Box Tier, a few seats away from the President and the First Family. The Honorees do not appear on stage nor do they speak to the general audience. The show consists of events from the recipients' lives, presented documentary style in film and live onstage, with the complete list of guest performers kept unpublicized until the show is in progress. George Stevens, Jr. said: "Our tradition of surprises and surprise guests is particularly special..." For example, for Dolly Parton, a 2006 Honoree, Jessica Simpson, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Rogers, Alison Krauss and Shania Twain performed. The pre-taped portion of the presentations typically include excerpts from the honoree's work, donated by rights' holders, with revenues generated by the occasion supporting the nonprofit arts and education activities of the Kennedy Center.

The Honors Gala is "really two different shows", according to George Stevens, Jr., its producer; the priority is on the 2300-member audience in the Opera House, some of whom pay over $6000 for their seats, a source of revenue that provides (as of 2005) almost 10% of the center's annual contributions.

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