September 3, 2008 16:01

Stevie Wonder to receive Gershwin Prize

He's the second person ever to receive award

Stevie Wonder is set to receive the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, in the second year of the already-prestigious award’s existence.

The ceremony will take place February 23 in Washington DC, at the Library's Great Hall, and a concert will take place the following evening.

Wonder will also commission a piece for the Library, joining a list of composers that already includes Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland, reports Billboard.

Wonder’s 1976 classic album ‘Songs In The Key Of Life’ was placed in the National Recording Registry in 2005, a move that states that the album is a recording that is "culturally, historically or aesthetically important and/or inform or reflect life in the United States."

Paul Simon received the first-ever Gershwin Prize in May of last year and this year Simon was part of the Prize Advisory Committee which also includes singer/pianist Michael Feinstein, ‘Saturday Night Live’ head honcho Lorne Michaels, Phil Ramone and Allen Toussaint.

--By our New York staff.
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