Mick Jagger , Jeff Beck , Buddy Guy , B.B. King , Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks joined other notable musicians Tuesday night at the White House for a celebration of the blues. President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted the concert in the East Room in recognition of Black History Month.
Obama joked at the start of the event that as president, he can't take a walk or go for a drive. However, he continued, "There are other nights where B.B. King and Mick Jagger come over to your house to play for a concert. So I guess things even out a little bit."
Obama said blues music was the forerunner to the rock and roll, R&B and hip-hop genres. He said the blues had "humble beginnings -- roots in slavery and segregation, a society that rarely treated black Americans with the dignity and respect that they deserved. The blues bore witness to these hard times and like so many of the men and women who sang them, the blues refused to be limited by the circumstances of their birth."
B.B. King got the music portion of the concert started with renditions of "Let the Good Times Roll" and “The Thrill Is Gone.” Jagger performed “I Can’t Turn You Loose” and “Miss You.”
Obama, fresh off his performance of Al Green 's "Let's Stay Together" at a New York fundraiser a few weeks ago, demonstrated his vocal chops again Tuesday night, joining the other musicians for a performance of "Sweet Home Chicago" in a nod to his hometown.
The concert will air Monday night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern time on PBS as part of the PBS' In Performance at the White House series.
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