Kennedy Center to honor Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and more

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has named its 47th class for the Kennedy Center Honors.

This year, iconic filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, legendary rock group the Grateful Dead and Grammy-winning singer Bonnie Raitt were among those singled out for their lifetime artistic achievements.

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Also included were musician and composer Arturo Sandoval and iconic Harlem venue The Apollo, which will receive a special honor as an American institution.

In a statement, Kennedy Center chairman David M. Rubenstein noted, "The Kennedy Center Honors recognizes artists who have made an extraordinary impact on the cultural life of our nation and continue to have an immeasurable influence on new generations."

He feted Coppola as "a brilliant and masterful storyteller with an unrelenting innovative spirit" whose "films have become embedded in the very idea of American culture."

Rubenstein saluted Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Phil Lesh, and Bobby Weir, calling the band a "social and cultural phenomenon since 1965" whose music "never stopped being a true American original, while inspiring a fan culture like no other."

He praised Raitt as an artist who "has made us love her again and again with her inimitable voice, slide guitar, and endless musical range encompassing blues, R&B, country rock, and folk" and called Sandoval "an ambassador of both music and humanity" who "transcended literal borders coming from Cuba 30-plus years ago and today continues to bridge cultures with his intoxicating blend of Afro Cuban rhythms and modern jazz."

As for The Apollo, the organization's chairman called it "one of the most consequential, influential institutions in history" that "has elevated the voices of Black entertainment in New York City, nationally, and around the world, and launched the careers of legions of artists."

The Kennedy Center Honors will be handed out Dec. 8 ahead of a CBS broadcast of the event on Dec. 23, later streaming on Paramount+.

Kennedy Center to honor Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt and more originally appeared on goodmorningamerica.com