APPresident Obama presents Paul McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

President Obama also spoke about the difficult time people in the Gulf area were going through as a result of the oil spill. He said music can help people through bad times.“Hey Jude” is a song that eases pain. Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote the song. McCartney’s words were meant to comfort Lennon’s son, Julian, during his parents’ separation.

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Many people performed Paul McCartney’s songs at the White House to honor him. They included Emmylou Harris, Herbie Hancock, Corrine Bailey Rae, Dave Grohl and Stevie Wonder. Wonder received the Gershwin Prize last year. In nineteen eighty-two Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had a hit song. Here they perform “Ebony and Ivory,” written by McCartney.

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After the Beatles broke up in nineteen seventy, Paul McCartney formed another successful band, Wings. The band included his wife, Linda, who died of breast cancer in nineteen ninety-eight. We leave you with Wings performing “Let 'Em In” from nineteen seventy-six.

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DOUG JOHNSON: I'm Doug Johnson. Our program was written by our Special English intern, Michael DeFabo, and Caty Weaver who was also the producer.

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