President Barack Obama kicked off a celebratory night of Memphis Soul performances in the East Room of the White House on Tuesday night by suggesting a small change in presidential tradition.
"Give it up for our musical director, Booker T. and the Memphis Soul All-Stars," Obama told the audience, as Booker T. Jones wrapped up "Green Onions." "I just want everybody to know that it is now my second term, so rather than 'Hail to the Chief,' we're going with ('Green Onions') from here on out."
It wasn't a hard sell for this crowd, which gathered to hear Justin Timberlake, Alabama Shakes, William Bell, Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, Ben Harper, Queen Latifah, Cyndi Lauper, Joshua Ledet, Sam Moore, Charlie Musselwhite, Mavis Staples and Jones perform a dozen Otis Redding hits as part of an night that event producer Ken Ehrlich dubbed "Otis for POTUS."
Before moving on with the music, Obama announced the engagement of two White House staffers, Kenny Thompson, the director of Vice President Joe Biden's messaging, and Jessica Wright, White House director of scheduling, according to a pool report. Obama said the two of them had worked for him since Iowa in 2007.
"A beautiful couple," Obama told the crowd. "We love them. They are wonderful. They've been loyal, shown such great friendship to me, and I'm so glad that they have gone ahead and taken the plunge."
