Justin Timberlake, Sam Moore and others perform in White House Concert
Top musicians celebrated soul music at the White House, on April 9 in Washington. Justin Timberlake was invited to the event along with veteran musicians such as Booker T. Jones, gospel singer Mavis Staples, guitarist and songwriter Steve Cropper, and electric blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite.
The Southern soul singer Sam Moore w performed "Soul Man" with "American Idol" season eleven finalist Joshua Ledet.
The President Barack Obama was looking forward to celebrate Memphis soul music. "These songs get us on the dance floor," Obama said. "They get stuck in our heads. We go back over them again and again. And they've played an important part in our history."
The First Lady instructed and encouraged the students to work hard, giving as example some aspiring musicians, "As you listen, I want you all to keep one thing in mind…realize that none of these folks up here arrived here on the basis of talent alone. They’re here because they’ve been working hard to perfect their craft since they were at least your age, and many of them even younger…when Justin first started touring, he would immediately go to the bus to watch a tape of his performance, taking notes so that the next night he would be even better."
"The discipline, the patience, the diligence I learned through the study of music, those are all skills that I apply every single day in my life," Mrs. Obama said. "I applied them as a student, as a lawyer, as a first lady, and definitely as a mother."
The Memphis soul concert will be broadcast next Tuesday on PBS stations.
