Obama Salutes The Boss: Springsteen Gets Kennedy Center Honor

Updated:

September 10, 2009 6:12 pm

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The Boss gets a nod from the Chief.

Barack Obama will toast American icon Bruce Springsteen at this year’s Kennedy Center Honors Gala, which will take place December 6th. Obama famously quipped that he wanted to be President because he couldn’t be Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen had a monster hit in 1984 with “Born In the USA,” a song whose message was later co-opted by Ronald Reagan. Springsteen, who previously abstained from endorsing any political figure, was a key player in the 2004 “Vote For Change” tour and campaigned extensively for Obama in 2008.

Other entertainers being celebrated alongside the Boss include Robert DeNiro, Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry. The ceremony will air December 29th on CBS. “With his gritty and honest songs that speak to the everyman, Bruce Springsteen has always had his finger on the pulse of America,” the Kennedy Center wrote today in a statement.

Past Kennedy Center honorees include Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Brian Wilson, Diana Ross, Elton John, and Tina Turner. Last year, the honorees included the Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend, who got choked up taking in singer Betty Lavette’s emotional reading of “Love Reign O’Er Me.” Check it it below.