Stevie Wonder is to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom fromBarack Obama.The 64 year-old singer will join 15 other recipients, including actress Meryl Streep and composer Stephen Sondheim, at a White House ceremony on November 24. Obama has called Wonder his "musical hero" and Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours was performed live on the final night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
In 2009, the multi-Grammy winning soul singer was presented with the Library of Congress's second annual Gershwin Prize for Popular Song during a concert at the White House.
Obama has described the recipient's back catalogue as "the soundtrack of my youth" and Wonder's You and I was the wedding song chosen by Obama and his wife. Michelle Obama has said that Wonder's Talking Book was the first album she bought. "I think it is fair to say that had I not been a Stevie Wonder fan, Michelle might not have dated me, we might not have married. The fact that we agreed on Stevie was part of the essence of out courtship," the President said at the 2009 ceremony.The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest honour granted to civilians in the US and recognises contributions to security, world peace and cultural achievement.
"From scientists who kept America on the cutting edge to public servants who help write new chapters in our American story, these citizens have made extraordinary contributions to our country and the world," Obama said in a statement from Beijing, where the president was traveling for an economic summit.
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