Streisand, Freeman, Tharp Among Kennedy Center Fab Six

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The 2008 Kennedy Center Honorees

The recipients of the 31st annual Kennedy Center Honors were announced today. This year's honorees are: singer/actress Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, rock musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of the Who, dancer/choreographer Twyla Tharp and country singer George Jones.

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A native of Portland, Ind., the indefatigable Tharp, 67, is currently rehearsing two new works with the Pacific Ballet. Her ties to the Kennedy Center Honors are very personal. "I went for Martha [Graham], I was there for Sinatra. Because I have these personal connections, it is special. And I guess receiving it means you have grown up," she said.

Next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Who's performance at Woodstock and the band's rock opera, "Tommy." "I know these anniversaries are coming up. But it seems like yesterday to me," said Daltrey, 64.

"I am so grateful that people still like the music and it still has a resonance. But we have to talk about Pete, and without his genius the music wouldn't have been so insightful. The way he moved rock-and-roll from a three-chord, basic funk into a more classical form and still was rock-and-roll, that was genius."

Townshend, 63, released a statement: "Roger and I both feel our work in the United States has been as important as our work at home. Because our medium rock music is quintessentially American music with broad and deep international and multicultural roots, this honour is especially meaningful to we Brits."

In a couple of days, Jones will be 77; he, too, is still working -- traveling to promote a new album and "looking forward to a heavy schedule next year," he said.

"I tell you, all I ever wanted to do is sing, and I never thought it would lead to this award," said the Saratoga, Tex., native, whose first song hit the charts in 1955. Since then, he has racked up 166 hits. No matter where he goes, he is asked to sing "He Stopped Loving Her Today," named the all-time greatest country song in 1992. "It is just one of those sad, beautiful songs, but I thought it would never be made because it was so sad. I carried the song with me almost a year before I recorded it. How wrong can I be."

His new album features duets from an earlier recording session. "These are the songs which were left in the can," said Jones of his collaboration with Keith Richards and Georgette Jones, his daughter with Tammy Wynette. They sing a song she wrote "about herself and I -- 'You and Me and Time.' It is a true story because we weren't allowed to be together for many years because of the divorce. Now we are family again."

Streisand first emerged as a singular talent on Broadway in 1962, receiving a Tony nomination for "I Can Get It for You Wholesale," and two years later for "Funny Girl." The Oscars followed, with a Best Actress award in 1969 for "Funny Girl," the year she tied with Katharine Hepburn. Then came a songwriting Oscar in 1977 for "Evergreen" from "A Star Is Born."

Streisand has 50 gold and 30 platinum albums, plus a cabinet of Grammys, Emmys and other salutes.

"Well, I've been recording a long time," she said. "Yet I never keep count of anything."

"Directing is the most interesting," said Streisand, the first female director to get a best director nomination from the Directors Guild for "The Prince of Tides." "It combines all that you know, your sense of composition, graphics dealing with actors and telling a story. Directing is being in the moment and using reality and being open."

Over the years Streisand has used her voice to share her views on politics, environment and arts education. But she says, "In the end, art does transcend politics."