Paul McCartney Receives Gershwin Prize For Popular Song

“I intend to just try to have fun,” McCartney said yesterday, but he expressed nervousness about performing “like, three feet away” from President Obama.

“It’s very special. It’s true, I’ve had some great awards, I’ve been really lucky on that score,” McCartney said. “But for an English kid growing up in Liverpool -- the White House -- that’s very special.”

Since writing his first song at the age of 14, Paul McCartney has dreamed and dared to be different. In the ’60s, as the writer and co-author of The Beatles’ greatest songs, he changed the world of music. Legendary albums include: "Please Please Me," "Revolver," "Help!," "Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "The White Album." Paul has continued to push boundaries over the last 30 years, first as a solo artist, then with Wings (with albums that included "Band On The Run" and "Wings at The Speed Of Sound") and following that as a solo artist again, with recent highlights including 2007’s "Memory Almost Full." Most recently he received critical acclaim as "The Fireman" (a collaborative project between McCartney and producer Youth) with their 2008 "Electric Arguments" album.