The President:
Well, first of all, I
want to wish everybody
a happy Mardi Gras.
I hear Trombone Shorty brought
some beads up from New Orleans.
And I see that we've got some
members of our Cabinet here.
We've got some
members of Congress.
And we have elected officials
from all across the country.
One of the things about being
President -- I've talked about
this before -- is that some
nights when you want to go out
and just take a walk,
clear your head,
or jump into a car just to
take a drive, you can't do it.
Secret Service won't let you.
And that's frustrating.
But then there are other nights
where B.B. King and Mick Jagger
come over to your house
to play for a concert.
(applause)
So I guess things
even out a little bit.
(laughter)
In 1941, the folklorist Alan
Lomax travelled throughout the
Deep South, recording local
musicians on behalf of the
Library of Congress.
In Stovall, Mississippi, he
met McKinley Morganfield,
a guitar player who went by
the nickname Muddy Waters.
And Lomax sent Muddy two
pressings from their sessions
together, along with
a check for $20.
Later in his life, Muddy
recalled what happened next.
He said, "I carried that record
up to the corner and I put it on
the jukebox.
Just played it and played
it, and said, I can do it.
I can do it.
In many ways, that right there
is the story of the blues.
This is music with humble
beginnings -- roots in slavery
and segregation, a society that
rarely treated black Americans
with the dignity and
respect that they deserved.
The blues bore witness
to these hard times.
And like so many of the men
and women who sang them,
the blues refused to be
limited by the circumstances
of their birth.
The music migrated north -- from
Mississippi Delta to Memphis to
my hometown in Chicago.
It helped lay the foundation
for rock and roll,
and R&B and hip-hop.
It inspired artists and
audiences around the world.
And as tonight's performers
will demonstrate,
the blues continue
to draw a crowd.
Because this music speaks
to something universal.
No one goes through life
without both joy and pain,
triumph and sorrow.
The blues gets all of that,
sometimes with just one lyric
or one note.
And as we celebrate
Black History Month,
the blues reminds us that we've
been through tougher times
before -- that's why I'm proud
to have these artists here --
and not just as a fan,
but also as the President.
Because their music teaches us
that when we find ourselves at a
crossroads, we don't shy
away from our problems.
We own them.
We face up to them.
We deal with them.
We sing about them.
We turn them into art.
And even as we confront
the challenges of today,
we imagine a brighter
tomorrow, saying, I can do it,
just like Muddy Waters
did all those years ago.
With that in mind, please
join me in welcoming these
extraordinary artists
to the White House.
And now, it is my pleasure to
bring out our first performer
to the stage, the King of
the Blues, Mr. B.B. King.
(applause)
