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Well, good evening,everyone. On behalf of Michelle andmyself, welcome to the White House. Thisis truly one of our favorite nights of the year, and not just because ofeveryone who visits the White House — this group also usually wins “bestdressed” award. (Laughter.) All of you look spectacular. I am a little disappointed that CarlosSantana wore one of his more conservative shirts this evening. (Laughter.) Back in the day, you could see those things from space. (Laughter.)

I want to start by thankingeveryone who dedicates themselves to making the Kennedy Center such a wonderfulplace for the American people to experience the arts — David Rubenstein, theKennedy Center trustees, and of course, Michael Kaiser, who will conclude 13years of tremendous service as the president of the Kennedy Center nextyear. (Applause.) So on behalf of Michelle and myself, we wantto all thank Michael so much for the extraordinary work that he has done.

As always, this celebrationwouldn’t be what it is without the enthusiasm of the co-chair of thePresident’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, George Stevens. George. (Applause.) And his son,Michael. And together, for years they’veput on this event to honor the artists whose brilliance has touched our lives.

President Kennedy once said ofsuch creative genius that, “The highest duty of the writer, the composer, theartist is to remain true to himself and to let the chips fall where theymay.” Now, that’s easy to say when — asthey do for these artists — the chips usually fall in your favor, whether atWoodstock or the Oscars or elite venues all over the world.

But the fact is that the diversegroup of extraordinary individuals we honor today haven’t just proventhemselves to be the best of the best. Despite all their success, all their fame, they’ve remained true tothemselves — and inspired the rest of us to do the same.

Growing up in Harlem, MartinaArroyo’s parents told her she could be and do anything. That was until she said that she wanted to bean opera singer. (Laughter.) Her father — perhaps not fully appreciatingthe versatility required of an opera singer — said he didn’t want his daughterto be like a can-can girl. (Laughter.) In her neighborhoodback then, opera was not the obvious career path. And there weren’t a lot of opera singers wholooked like her that she could look up to.

But Martina had a dream shecouldn’t shake, so she auditioned relentlessly and jumped at any role she couldget. Along the way, she earned money byteaching and working as a social worker in New York City. And when she got a call from the MetropolitanOpera asking her to fill in the lead for “Aida,” she was sure it was just afriend pulling her leg. It wasn’t untilthey called back that she realized the request was real, and she just aboutfell over in shock. But in that breakoutrole she won fans around the world, beloved for her tremendous voice andunparalleled grace.

Martina has sung the greatroles: Mozart’s Donna Anna, Puccini’sMadame Butterfly, Verdi’s Lady Macbeth, and, of course, Aida. She’s played the world’s stages, fromCincinnati to Paris to Israel. She’sbroken through barriers, broadening our notion of what magnificent artists looklike and where they come from.

And along the way, she’s helpedpeople of all ages, all over the world, discover the art form that she loves sodeeply. For a lot of folks, it wasMartina Arroyo who helped them see and hear and love the beauty and power ofopera. And with her charitablefoundation, she is nurturing the next generation of performers — smart,talented, driven, and joyous, just like her. For moving us with the power of her voice and empowering others to sharetheirs too, we honor Martina Arroyo. (Applause.)

Herbie Hancock played his firstconcerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he was 11 years old. Two years later, he heard a classmate playjazz piano at a variety show and thought, “That’s my instrument, and he can dothat? Why can’t I?” It turned out he could. (Laughter.)

By 23, Herbie was playing withMiles Davis in New York and on his way to becoming a jazz legend. And he didn’t stop there. In the seventies, he put his electricalengineering studies to work and helped create electronic music. In the eighties, his hit “Rockit” became ananthem for a fledging new genre called hip-hop. At one recent show, he played alongside an iMac and five iPads. (Laughter.) And a few years ago, he became the first jazz artist in 43 years to wina Grammy for best album.

But what makes Herbie so specialisn’t just how he approaches music; it’s how he approaches life. He tours the world as a UNESCO GoodwillAmbassador. He’s done so many benefitconcerts that Joni Mitchell once gave him a watch inscribed with thewords: “He played real good forfree.” (Laughter.) And we know this because he’s played here forfree a lot. (Laughter andapplause.) We work Herbie, I’m tellingyou. (Laughter.)

But we just love the man. Michelle and I love this man, not justbecause he’s from Chicago. Not justbecause he and I had the same hairdo in the 1970s. (Laughter.) Not just because he’s got that spooky Dorian Gray doesn’t-get-olderthing going on. (Laughter.) It is his spirit, it is his energy — whichis relentless and challenging, and he’s always pushing boundaries. Herbie once said of his outlook, “We’re goingto see some unbelievable changes. And Iwould rather be on the side of pushing for that than waiting for somebody elseto do it.”

Well, Herbie, we are glad thatyou didn’t wait for somebody else to do what you’ve done, because nobody elsecould. For always pushing us forward, wehonor Herbie Hancock. (Applause.)

When a 22-year-old Carlos Santanatook the stage at Woodstock, few people outside his hometown of San Franciscoknew who he was. And the feeling wasmutual. Carlos was in such a — shall wesay — altered state of mind that he remembers almost nothing about the otherperformers. (Laughter andapplause.) He thought the neck of hisguitar was an electric snake. (Laughter.)

But that did not stop Carlos andhis band from whipping the crowd into a such frenzy with a mind-blowing mix ofblues, and jazz, and R&B, and Latin music. They’d never heard anything like it. And almost overnight, Carlos Santana became a star.

It was a pretty steep climb for ayoung man who grew up in Mexico, playing the violin for tourists, chargingfifty cents a song. But as a teenager,Carlos fell in love with the guitar. Hedeveloped a distinctive sound that has drawn admirers from Bob Dylan to HerbieHancock. And he gave voice to a Latinocommunity that had too often been invisible to too many Americans. “You can cuss or you can pray with theguitar,” Carlos says. He found a way todo both. (Laughter.)

And today, with 10 Grammys underhis belt, Carlos is considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time. And he’s still attracting new fans. Back in 2000, his album “Supernatural” beatout Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys to get to the Number 1 on thecharts. Kids were listening to Carloswho hadn’t even heard of Woodstock.

But despite all his success,Carlos says he still feels blessed to “be able to play a piece of wood withstrings and touch people’s hearts.” Sofor blessing all of us with his music, we honor Carlos Santana. (Applause.)

Now, when you first becomePresident, one of the questions that people ask you is, what’s really going onin Area 51? (Laughter.) When I wanted to know, I’d call ShirleyMacLaine. (Laughter.) I think I just became the first President toever publicly mention Area 51. How’sthat, Shirley? (Laughter and applause.)

We love Shirley MacLaine. She’s unconventional, and that makes herincomparable — with nearly 60 years of reign as one of the most celebratedstars in movie history to prove it. “There are some performers that are indelible,” said one fan aboutShirley. “We fall early and we fall hardfor them and we follow them for the rest of their lives.” Now, that fan just happens to be a legend inher own right, who we honored here two years ago — Meryl Streep. But Meryl is not the only one who fell hard.

Shirley has been drawing fans,including me, since — well, not since she first lit up the big screen –because in 1955 she was in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Trouble with Harry,” butshe’s still spitting fire with the same old spunk, most recently playing theAmerican grandma in “Downton Abbey,” which Michelle I think got some earlypreviews for. (Laughter.) Along the way, Shirley has racked up justabout every Hollywood award that is out there. That’s why her nickname, “Powerhouse,” is so fitting. The truth is Shirley earned that nickname forhitting the most home runs on the boys’ baseball team when she was a kid. But I’d say that it still works pretty wellto describe her today.

And that’s because ShirleyMacLaine’s career isn’t defined by a list of film roles and musicalperformances. Through raucous comedies,and stirring dramas, and spirited musicals, Shirley has been fearless and she’sbeen honest, and she’s tackled complicated characters, and she’s revealed agrittier, deeper truth in each one of those characters — giving every audiencethe experience of cinema at its best. It’s a motto she has lived by: “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where all the fruit is.” For her risk-taking, for her theatrical brilliance, for her limitlesscapacity for wonder, we honor this American powerhouse — ShirleyMacLaine. (Applause.)

And finally, in a world full ofbrilliant musicians, there’s only one Piano Man. The son of a Jewish father who left Germanyfor America to escape the Nazis, Billy Joel started piano lessons as a boygrowing up on Long Island. His fatherwas a classical pianist, so that was Billy’s training too — until the night heand millions of Americans watched The Beatles play the Ed Sullivan Show. Most people thought, “I want to hear moremusic like that.” But Billy thought, “Iwant to make my own music like that.” And from then on, it was all rock and roll to him.

With lyrics that speak of loveand class and failure and success, angry young men and the joy of becoming afather, he’s become one of the most successful musicians in history, sellingmore than 150 million records.

Above all, Billy Joel sings aboutAmerica: About the workers living inAllentown after the factories closed down. About soldiers home from the war, forever changed, bidding “GoodnightSaigon.” Commercial fishermen strugglingto make a living in the waters off of Long Island, sailing the DowneasterAlexa. The sights and sounds of thatcity like no other, which can put anyone in a “New York State of Mind.” And of course, the rag-tag bunch of regularsat the bar where he started out, shouting at him again and again to “sing us asong.”

Billy Joel probably would havebeen a songwriter no matter where he was born. But we are certainly lucky that he ended up here. And the hardworking folks he’s met and themusic that he’s heard across our nation come through in every note and everylyric that he’s written. For an artistwhose songs are sung around the world, but which are thoroughly, wonderfullyAmerican, we honor Billy Joel. (Applause.)

So, Martina Arroyo, HerbieHancock, Carlos Santana, Shirley MacLaine, Billy Joel — each of our brilliant honorees has given us somethingunique and enriched us beyond measure, as individuals and as a nation. Together they bring us closer to PresidentKennedy’s vision of the arts as a great humanizing and truth-tellingexperience.

Their triumphs have lifted ourspirits and lifted our nation and left us a better and richer place. And for that we will always be grateful. So we thank you all.

God bless you, and please join mein saluting one more time our remarkable 2013 Kennedy Center Honorees. (Applause.)

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