Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Electronic edition | Subscription Questions | Extras

Cultural icons take their bows

By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Published December 20, 2007 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size  
Three of the five Kennedy Center Honorees - Diana Ross, left, Martin Scorsese and Steve Martin - stand in the President's Box on Dec. 2 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

Photo by Lawrence Jackson / Associated Press

Three of the five Kennedy Center Honorees - Diana Ross, left, Martin Scorsese and Steve Martin - stand in the President's Box on Dec. 2 at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington.

Brian Wilson

Brian Wilson

More Television

More stories »

For Brian Wilson, a recent trip to the nation's capital meant not only being feted at the Kennedy Center Honors, but also hearing what he considers the ultimate version of his classic God Only Knows.

"I thought Lyle Lovett's version was the best version I ever heard, including the Beach Boys'," Wilson said in a recent phone interview. "The most loving beautiful version I've ever heard. Unbelievable."

Wilson, the mastermind behind the Beach Boys, was presented with the honor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Dec. 2, along with Martin Scorsese, Steve Martin, Diana Ross and pianist Leon Fleisher. The two-hour event will air Wednesday on CBS.

It was the 30th class of honorees for the awards, founded in 1978 to recognize career contributions to American culture. The list of previous musical honorees includes Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, B.B. King, Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Paul Simon.

During the presentation, Art Garfunkel described Wilson's music as "this unique crazy creation, a mix of rock 'n' roll and heartfelt prayer." In addition to Lovett's tribute, I Get Around was performed by Hootie and the Blowfish. No other surviving member of the Beach Boys was in attendance.

Wilson, who founded the Beach Boys in 1962 and wrote such treasured hits as Good Vibrations, Wouldn't It Be Nice?, California Girls and Fun Fun Fun, has long been admired beyond the world of pop or rock music.

Leonard Bernstein once called him "one of today's most important musicians, a symbol of the change many of these young musicians see in our future." Burt Bacharach said, "Brian Wilson is one of the greatest innovators of my decade or any decade."

After many years lost to drug and mental-health issues, Wilson revived his career in the past decade. He started touring again in 1998. Then, in 2004, he completed the Smile album that he had started almost 40 years earlier and released it to rave reviews.

What did the Kennedy Center Honor mean to him?

"Well, it means people must have liked me quite a bit to have gotten that kind of honor," he said. "And the Beach Boys must have blown people's minds."

The show also features a musical tribute to Ross, featuring Ciara, Yolanda Adams and Vanessa Williams. Robert De Niro pays tribute to Scorsese, Yo Yo Ma honors Fleisher and Steve Carell speaks about Martin.

Kennedy Center Honors

* Featuring honorees Brian Wilson, Martin Scorsese, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, Leon Fleisher

* 8 p.m. Wednesday, CBS 4