WASHINGTON — Neil Diamond thanked Caroline Kennedy, the namesake of his famous tune “Sweet Caroline,” as he joined other luminaries from Broadway, jazz and classical music to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.
Actress Meryl Streep, Broadway singer Barbara Cook, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins were among several Sunday to receive the nation’s top award for those who have influenced American culture through the arts.
Earlier, President Barack Obama lauded the actors and musicians at the White House.
“They have different talents, and they’ve traveled different paths,” Obama said. “And yet they belong here together because each of tonight’s honorees has felt the need to express themselves and share that expression with the world.”
Classical music stole the show’s finale with surprise tributes to Ma from Stephen Colbert and Elmo from TV’s “Sesame Street.” At 56, Ma is hailed as a musical ambassador to the world.
Cook, 84, made her Broadway debut in 1951, and later Leonard Bernstein cast her in his musical “Candide.” She topped that performance as Marian the Librarian in 1957’s hit musical “The Music Man,” for which she won a Tony Award.
Rollins, 81, is a jazz saxophonist who has shared the stage with Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie, among others. “America is the home of jazz. It’s what we started,” he said.
CBS will broadcast the show Dec. 27.
