March 22nd 2023.
Gladys Knight, an iconic and renowned vocalist, can now add a National Medal of Arts to her extensive list of career triumphs. On Tuesday, President Biden acknowledged and commended Knight, alongside Bruce Springsteen, José Feliciano, Mindy Kaling and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, at the White House for their contributions to the field of entertainment. “The National Medal of Arts awardees have aided in defining and enhancing our nation's cultural heritage through their wholehearted devotion,” declared National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson. “We are an improved country due to their efforts. Their work allows us to view the world from different perspectives. It motivates us to reach our utmost potential and recognize our shared human characteristics. I join the President in congratulating and praising them.”
Notably, this is not the first occasion that President Biden has highlighted the “Midnight Train To Georgia” artist. In 2021, she was honored at the 45th Kennedy Center Honors for her lifetime artistic accomplishments.
Her tribute was initiated with a performance of her renowned single “I Heard It Through The Grapevine,” by Ariana Debose, a recipient of an Academy Award.
“As a young girl beginning my career, I never could have anticipated being honored on a stage such as this, amongst artists and humanitarians like these – it would have seemed inconceivable,” she said when accepting her award. “It would have been the dream of all dreams. I have been endowed with so much throughout my life, and this certainly ranks among my most remarkable accomplishments.”
Revered by many to be one of the greatest singers ever, Gladys Knight, at the age of 78, has earned seven Grammys, been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has released six number-one R&B albums.
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