President Barack Obama made headlines last month when he took to the stage at Harlem’s Apollo Theater and sang in front of a live audience, and last night he took the stage once again, this time with the legendary B.B. King and Mick Jagger.
PBS was at the White House taping a special called “In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues” to”honor the musical form that sprang from the Mississippi Delta and flourished in the Westside of Chicago with deep roots in Africa and slavery.” This special isn’t the first of it’s kind, in fact it was been “produced by WETA since 1978 and spans every administration since President Carter’s.” This year’s special stars B.B. King, Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Keb Mo, and many others.
For the final song of the night the entire group of artists took to the stage to sing “Sweet Home Chicago”, and they were joined by the President himself. The Associated Press reports that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle “were swaying in their seats and singing along to an all-hits playlist” for most of the evening, and even took the opportunity to dance a couple of times. When the show was coming to an end however Buddy Guy prodded the President by talking about his previous performance saying “You gotta keep it up,” and after Mick Jagger handed him the microphone Obama sang “Come on, baby don’t you want to go,” twice. He then handed the microphone to B.B. King before taking it back to add “Sweet Home Chicago” to end the night.
In Performance at the White House: Red, White and Blues airs on PBS next Monday, February 27th at 9pm.
Picture Courtesy of: Pete Souza, The Obama-Biden Transition Project
Tags: b.b.king, backa obama, barack sings, buddy guy, in performance at the white house, Michelle Obama, mick jagger, obama sings, pbs, Red, white and blues