Kennedy Centre Honors spotlight 1970s film, music stars

The Kennedy Center, celebrating the decade that taste supposedly forgot, is presenting three giants of 1970s pop culture with the 2015 edition of its highly coveted honors.

"Star Wars" creator George Lucas, singer-songwriter Carole King and 1970s supergroup The Eagles top the list of this year's inductees, announced Wednesday by the nation's premier venue for the performing arts.

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa and actresses Rita Moreno and Cicely Tyson will also be presented with Kennedy Center Honors by President Barack Obama at the White House on December 6 ahead of an evening gala to be recorded for telecast on December 29.

"Quite simply, our honorees represent the voices, soundtracks and stories of our personal lives and memories," said Kennedy Center president David Rubenstein in a statement.

Lucas has "enriched our world with stories of epic adventure" while the Eagles' music "has endured as the quintessential American rock 'n' roll sound for generations," Rubenstein said.

As for King, her "heartfelt lyrics and tunes are woven throughout the tapestry of American music," he said, toying with the title of one of her best-known albums, "Tapestry."

Lucas, 71, was an Oscar nominee for "American Graffiti" in 1973 and his sci-fi classic "Star Wars" in 1977. He later directed several "Star Wars" sequels as well as two films in the Indiana Jones action-adventure franchise.

New York-born King, 73, loomed large on the pop music charts in the early 1970s with a raft of best-selling albums and hit songs such as "I Feel the Earth Move" and "It's Too Late."

The Eagles, featuring Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Joe Walsh, dominated the American rock charts throughout the 1970s with hits including "Take It Easy," "One of These Nights" and "Hotel California" -- songs that endure as cover-band classics to this day.
Source: AFP