At the specific request of the legendary Jeff Beck, singer Beth Hart joined the guitarist on stage last night at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center Opera House to pay tribute to pioneering blues legend Buddy Guy who received a 2012 Kennedy Center Honors for his lifetime of contributions to American Culture. Guy was feted alongside comedian and television host David Letterman, actor and director Dustin Hoffman, ballet dancer Natalia Makarova, and rock group Led Zeppelin, with President Obama and the First Lady in attendance.
As part of the annual Honors Gala, Beck and Hart, working with the show’s Musical Director Rob Mathes and a crème de la crème group of musicians, saluted Buddy Guy with a performance of “I’d Rather Go Blind,” the 1968 blues and soul classic written by Ellington Jordan and first recorded by Etta James. Further tribute to Guy was paid with additional performances by multiple Grammy winner Tracy Chapman, Texas blues guitar god Jimmie Vaughan, white-hot blues-rock singer/guitarist Gary Clark, Jr., and nine-time Grammy winning singer/guitarist, Bonnie Raitt. Guy’s tribute finale saw all of the performers on stage together for the song “Sweet Home Chicago,” with Raitt, Chapman, and Beth Hart sharing the song’s vocals.
The Kennedy Center Honors performances were recorded for broadcast, and the two-hour special will air on the CBS Network on Wednesday, December 26 at 9:00PM ET/PT.
Hart first began her collaboration with Jeff Beck when she was the featured vocalist on his 2006 tour, and the two have remained great friends and mutual admirers since. When the Kennedy Center Honors producers approached Beck to pay tribute to Buddy Guy, he expressly asked for Beth to join him.
Beth will see her new album, Bang Bang Boom Boom released in North America on April 9, 2013. (Provogue Records/Mascot Label Group). Produced by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Joe Bonamassa, Jimmy Page/The Black Crowes, Dream Theater), and backedup by an extraordinary group of musicians, Bang Bang Boom Boom features eleven stunning blues, rock, jazz and soul-influenced tracks, all written or co-written by Hart, recorded in early 2012.
