Willie Nelson Receives Gershwin Prize for Popular Song
The Library of Congress awarded country music singer and songwriter Willie Nelson with the eighth annual Gershwin Prize, which he received at a memorable music-filled award ceremony on Nov. 15.
Singer and songwriter Willie Nelson was honored with this year’s Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. The tribute concert took place on Nov. 15 at the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.
The Gershwin Prize tradition began in 2007, when the Library of Congress selected its first recipient, Paul Simon. Since then, a total of eight outstanding songwriters have been recognized by what has now become one of the most prestigious awards in music. The honorees are chosen for their contribution to American music culture; reflecting the lasting impact of George and Ira Gershwin’s musical legacy, these artists have enriched America’s popular music landscape in a way that transcends boundaries of musical genre and societal distinctions.
Willie Nelson, whose career has spanned nearly six decades, is one of the nation’s foremost country music artists, whose musical creativity has exhibited a wide spectrum of styles including jazz, folk, honky-tonk, rock-and-roll, and the blues. He is also an author, poet, and actor as well as a prominent activist, using his creative voice to speak out on a variety of social and political issues.
Among those in attendance at the ceremony were the Gershwin Initiative’s Editor-in-Chief Mark Clague, and its Managing Editor, Jessica Getman.
“Willie’s just been a prolific songwriter,” says Getman. “Even before he was known as a singer, he was already writing songs in Nashville. This award—it’s not just for a singer. It’s for a songwriter, a songwriter whose songs have had a lasting impact on American culture.”
The atmosphere at the concert exemplified why Nelson was chosen to receive the prize.
“It was neat to see a lot of performers there. Some of them I knew and some of them I didn’t; but obviously everyone was very influenced by Willie. You could tell that he knew them all. He was sitting up in the balcony where everyone could see him; they’d look up and salute him.”
Among those performing were Edie Brickell, Ana Gabriel, Jamey Johnson, Neil Young, Buckwheat Zydeco, and former Gershwin Prize recipient Paul Simon, honoring Nelson with renditions of his own songs. Nelson took to the stage as well, singing a duet of the Gershwin classic “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” with singer Cyndi Lauper. He also performed “Living in the Promise Land” with his sons Lucas and Micah Nelson.
At 82 years old, Nelson has not lost the creative genius that made him an American music icon, nor the depth and flexibility of style that gives his music such wide appeal. As a fitting tribute and a prime example of his virtuosity as an artist, he has recorded an album entirely of Gershwin songs for imminent release.
The Library of Congress houses the world’s largest body of primary-source materials pertaining to George and Ira Gershwin, including original music scores, correspondence, photographs, sketches and paintings, and a variety of miscellanea from the brothers’ lives. The Willie Nelson Library of Congress Gershwin Prize Tribute will be aired on PBS on Jan. 15.
Sarah Sisk is an undergraduate English major at U-M’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. She is working with the Gershwin Initiative as an undergraduate research assistant in the university’s UROP program.