A bevy of performers took to the Warner Theatre stage on May 23 to salute Paul Simon as the first recipient of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The cast included James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Art Garfunkel, Alison Krauss, Marc Anthony, Lorne Michaels, Bob Costas, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lyle Lovett and former poet laureate Billy Collins, among others. The program was broadcast June 27 on PBS stations nationwide.
The creators and executive producers of the event were Peter and Bob Kaminsky, Mark Krantz and Cappy McGarr; they are also the creators and executive producers of the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, now in its 10th year. WETA executive producers of the broadcast were Dalton Delan and David S. Thompson.
All photos by Scott Suchman
Left: Bluegrass beauty Alison Krauss performs her version of Simon's "Graceland." Right: Bob Costas serves as host for the Gershwin Prize gala concert.
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Left: Stevie Wonder joins Simon and the Dixie Hummingbirds for rollicking rendition of "She Loves Me Like a Rock." Right: "Still Crazy After All These Years" himself, James Taylor, left, performs the signature Simon tune to the delight of the audience.
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Left: Simon takes the stage with his "brothers from South Africa," Ladysmith Black Mambazo, for the first time in nearly a decade. Right: Dianne Reeves pays homage to the Gershwins with the soulful "Our Love is Here To Stay."
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Left: Country crooner Lyle Lovett and Buckwheat Zydeco add a Cajun flair to the song "That Was Your Mother." Right: Simon introduces "his partner in arguments" Art Garfunkel before launching into the classic "Bridge Over Troubled Water."
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Clockwise from top left: Shawn Colvin, Philip Glass, Jerry Douglas, Yolanda Adams, and Stephen Marley perform sounds of Simon during the tribute concert
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to June 2007 - Vol. 66, No. 6