BURT BACHARACH & HAL DAVID: THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS GERSHWIN PRIZE FOR POPULAR SONG - IN PERFORMANCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE (2012)

“Burt Bacharach & Hal David: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song - In Performance at the White House” is a PBS music special in the East Room of the White House.  President and Mrs. Obama will host the concert event in honor of songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s receipt of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The evening will include performances by Sheryl Crow, Michael Feinstein, Diana Krall, Lyle Lovett, Mike Myers, Rumer, Arturo Sandoval, Sheléa and Stevie Wonder. President Obama will present the Gershwin Prize for Bacharach and David during the event.

This will be the first time the Gershwin Prize honor has been awarded to a songwriting team.  Like the legendary siblings for whom the Gershwin Prize is named, Bacharach and David are a pianist and lyricist respectively.  The GRAMMY- and Academy Award-winning pair have collaborated for more than a half-century, creating such beloved songs as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head,” “What the World Needs Now is Love,” “Walk on By” and “Alfie.” 

David, 90, and Bacharach, 83, first began collaborating in the 1950s at the Famous Paramount Music Co. in New York City. Since their first hit together, “The Story of My Life” in 1957, both David and Bacharach have been nominated and honored with every major award bestowed by the music industry. Today, their songs continue to be recorded by such artists as Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Cyndi Lauper, and the cast of the television show “Glee.” (00:54:33)