Video: No Doubt Pay Tribute to Paul McCartney at Kennedy Center Honors

No Doubt performed a ska-flavored medley of some of Paul McCartney’s best-known hits at the Kennedy Center Honors, which took place on December 5 but was televised on CBS last night. The medley, which included perky renditions of “Hello, Goodbye” and “Penny Lane,” was charming enough to inspire some good-natured lip-syncing from the former Beatle as he watched from the audience.

Merle Haggard on His Kennedy Center Honor, Obama, Oprah and More

The ceremony honored McCartney along with Oprah Winfrey, Merle Haggard, Bill T. Jones and Jerry Herman for their respective contributions to the arts. Yesterday, before the event was televised, the White House released behind-the-scenes footage from the reception prior to the ceremony (watch below).

In the clip, McCartney and choreographer Bill T. Jones muse on what it means that their art has gained this high level of acceptance, and country legend Haggard speaks humbly about being recognized as a cultural force, much as he did in our exclusive interview with him after the event.

 Gwen Stefani leads Kennedy Center tribute to Paul McCartney [USA Today]

 Behind the Scenes with the Kennedy Center Honorees: Paul McCartney, Oprah Winfrey and More [Whitehouse.gov]

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Song Stories

“Helen Wheels”

Paul McCartney | 1973

A rollicking good-time hard rocker, "Helen Wheels" was not about a woman but about Paul McCartney's Land Rover, the anthemic chorus voicing the vehicle's reckless joy as "she" took to the road. The song was added to the U.S. version of Band on the Run but was issued only as a single in McCartney's native U.K. "I like that because it's a British road song and there's not many of those around," said McCartney. "It's always Route 66. But Carlisle? How many songs have got Carlisle in them?"

More Song Stories entries »

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