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Beyonce, Queen Latifah, adn others perform in honor of Tina Turner
Member Since: 10/18/2004
Posts: 3,295
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Beyonce, Queen Latifah, adn others perform in honor of Tina Turner
In honor of Turner, Queen Latifah sang "What's Love Got to Do With It," Melissa Etheridge sang "River Deep, Mountain High" and Beyonce Knowles performed "Proud Mary."
Oprah Winfrey called herself "Tina's biggest known groupie" and spoke of seeing Turner perform live, advising the star-studded audience at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, "Add that to the list of things you do before you die."
The Kennedy Center Honors will be broadcast Dec. 27 on CBS.
WASHINGTON -- Pop star Beyonce Knowles brought usually reserved Washingtonians to their feet Sunday night as she paid tribute to singer Tina Turner, one of five recipients of this year’s Kennedy Center Honors.
As Knowles strutted across the stage “Tina-style,” performing Turner’s 1971 hit “Proud Mary” and wearing a gown once owned by the singer, the politicians, actors and musicians in the audience -- which included President Bush and Vice President **** Cheney -- moved to the pounding beat.
The moment captured the mood of the star-studded weekend, when political and theatrical celebrities rub shoulders, dazzle audiences and set aside the political machinations that embroil the nation’s capital.
The Honors, now in their 28th year, celebrate lifetime contributions to the performing arts. This year’s recipients, in addition to Turner, are singer Tony Bennett, actors Julie Harris and Robert Redford, and ballerina Suzanne Farrell.
Bennett, 79, began singing in 1936, at age 10, and still captivates audiences with his distinctive renditions of American standards. As a star of the New York City Ballet, Farrell, 60, was recognized as the premiere interpreter of George Balanchine’s innovative choreography, and she now heads her own company to keep his works alive.
Harris, 80, achieved perhaps her widest audience on the televised nighttime soap “Knots Landing,” although her nuanced performances on Broadway garnered her more Tony awards -- six -- than any other actress. The craggy good looks of Redford, 68, helped him win leading roles in such classic movies as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “All the President’s Men,” but his love of his craft -- and his strongly held belief that small films should have a chance to find an audience -- caused him to establish the Sundance Institute, an incubator for independent films, a quarter century ago.
And Turner, 66, overcame an abusive marriage and decades of adversity to embody respect, renewal and raw sensuality in rock ’n’ roll -- attributes acknowledged by the president at a White House reception Sunday afternoon. “People stand in wonder at the natural skill, the energy and sensuality, and the most famous legs in show business,” Bush said.
“Each of these honorees, in a lifetime of achievement, has set a standard of excellence that is admired throughout the world,” the president said. “All of them have earned a unique place in the cultural life of the United States and a special respect among their fellow Americans.”
At a glittering dinner Saturday at the State Department, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., saluted the honorees as “the greatest gathering of talent since Thomas Jefferson dined alone” -- recalling a similar remark made by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, to a group of Nobel Prize winners at the White House in 1962.
On Sunday, Bush and his wife, Laura, feted the honorees before the evening’s big event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. CBS will broadcast the ceremony Dec. 27.
Redford sat in the presidential box as actor Paul Newman, with whom he appeared in “Butch Cassidy” and “The Sting,” made fun of his co-star’s notorious problems with punctuality. “The only reason he’s in the vicinity tonight is because they told him this whole thing was yesterday,” said Newman, a Kennedy Center honoree in 1993. Then country singer Willie Nelson, an honoree in 1998, performed one of Redford’s favorite songs, “My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys.”
Record producer Quincy Jones, a 2001 honoree, used the title of one of Bennett’s biggest hits, “Fly Me to the Moon,” in his tribute Sunday night. “Tony is the only one who knows how to fly us to the moon and get us back,” he said, calling Bennett “a soulful messenger of American songs.”
Farrell’s dance company, which is based at the Kennedy Center, honored their leader by performing a short ballet by Balanchine. Farrell herself had performed on the same stage in 1978, when Balanchine was in the first group of Kennedy Center honorees.
To celebrate Harris’ roots on the Great White Way, Christine Branski, Karen Ziemba, Leslie Uggams, Michele Lee and Tyne Daly sang “Broadway Baby” from the musical “Follies,” by Stephen Sondheim, an honoree in 1993.
And talk show host Oprah Winfrey, describing herself as “Tina’s biggest known groupie,” advised the audience that there was nothing like seeing Turner in concert. “Add that to the list of things to do before you die,” she said.
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Member Since: 9/5/2005
Posts: 988
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I'd LOVE to see Beyoncé's performance.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/24/2001
Posts: 10,763
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heh...Dick Cheney had dick censored!
Anyways, CCR did Proud Mary first. And better. And not in heels. And while I love me some Tina and Beyonce is just gonna perform everywhere until she collapses and FINALLY fires her dad, she should have done "Nutbush" or "Be Good To Me."
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Member Since: 4/21/2005
Posts: 5,221
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That Sounds Really Awesome!!!
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Member Since: 10/18/2004
Posts: 3,295
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Here is an excerpt from the Washington Post article on what we will not see on the CBS broadcast on Dec 27th:
The Reliable Source
By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Tuesday, December 6, 2005; Page C01
Even with a Kennedy Center Honors crowd primed and ready for the obligatory "surprise" celebrity appearances, the announcement near the very end of Sunday's show sent a thrill through the room:
"Ladies and gentlemen -- Beyonce ."
And there she was, Miz Bootylicious herself, in a sparkly thigh-baring Bob Mackie thingy and stilettos, flinging that mane of hair, pumping those curvy gams and belting "Proud Mary" in such a perfect channeling of honoree Tina Turner circa 1971 that the kind of people who probably don't know from Destiny's Child -- and face it, that's mostly who goes to these things -- were going berserk.
What could be better? Try a second take. Due to a mike problem, the hip-hop princess taped a do-over for the television broadcast of the show -- but after the audience had left for dinner, reports our colleague Teresa Wiltz. So the only folks watching a performance that producers say blew the first one out of the water were a few Secret Service officers, a highly appreciative core of ushers -- and Turner herself, who lingered behind and blew kisses from the presidential box as Beyonce worked up a second sweat.
"I don't know how you did that," the breathless 24-year-old called up to Turner as she concluded the high-aerobic routine. "I'm about to pass out!"
It was a memorable moment of diva graciousness -- and then it was over. As some 1,800 donors, politicians and performers took their seats in the Grand Foyer for the traditional post-show dinner, Turner's table was empty. She and four friends had decamped to Georgetown's Bistro Francais.
Though the gala comes at the end of a wearying weekend of fetes, it is customary for honorees to make at least a short appearance for dinner to greet VIP and not-so-VIP fans. Eyebrows were raised, but Turner's rep insisted it was no snub: After sticking around for the retake, she went backstage to thank Beyonce (whose Mackie dress Turner once wore), Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah , who all had paid tribute to her in the show. "It was late when we were done and dinner had been served so we decided to get a quick bite on the way to the hotel," said spokeswoman Michele Schweitzer . At the bistro, Turner ordered the Black Angus sirloin and signed autographs for fans until 1 a.m.
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Member Since: 9/7/2005
Posts: 54
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lmao I bet Beyonce was rocking more weave than both Tina and Diana Ross put together!
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Member Since: 10/18/2004
Posts: 3,295
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Source: Jay-Z Fanboard
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 1/5/2002
Posts: 11,088
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lmao my friend Robbie will die when he sees this. He's obsessed with Tina Turner
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Member Since: 7/27/2003
Posts: 10,192
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Beyonce performing "Proud Mary", how typical being that she's obsessed with shaking her ass...
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Member Since: 7/10/2005
Posts: 440
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Quote:
Originally posted by Uncle Brian
Beyonce performing "Proud Mary", how typical being that she's obsessed with shaking her ass...
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I like when she shake that ass. Back it up so I can check up on it.
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