Sting, Al Green are 2014 Kennedy Center Honorees

The Kennedy Center has announced its slate for the 2014 Kennedy Center Honors, one of the most prestigious arts awards in the United States.

This year, the list includes British rocker Sting and R&B legend Al Green.

In a statement, the Kennedy Center stated, "Al Green's iconic voice stirs our souls in a style that is all his own." I suppose, once President Obama started quoting his songs, it was only a matter of time...

Sting was also lauded for his "unique voice and memorable songwriting."

The awards span various artistic disciplines, and in year's pasts. the five annual recipients have come from the fields of dance, film and television acting, and music. Up until relatively recently, the musical recipients were from the classical and theatrical worlds, with usually one instrumentalist and one vocalist or composer.

Slowly, the Kennedy Center has been making in-roads into more modern musical styles, taking gradual baby steps into blues, folk, early R&B, all leading towards rock n roll, with recent honorees including Willie Nelson, Billy Joel, and most recently Led Zeppelin.

Other recipients this year are comedienne Lily Tomlin, ballet dancer Patricia McBride and actor Tom Hanks.

#kennedycenterhonors #sting #algreen