Washington:
Kicking off the 2010 White House Music Series Barack and Michelle Obama turned TV hosts on Tuesday.
The US President and First Lady welcomed a dazzling line up of stars including Smokey Robinson, Joan Baez, Natalie Cole, Bob Dylan and Jennifer Hudson to "In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement."
The concert was in celebration of Black History month and will be televised across the US on February 11th at 8:00 p.m.
Kick starting proceedings, President Obama stressed the importance of music in times of adversity.
"Dr. King himself once acknowledged that he didn't see the real meaning of the movement until he saw young people singing in the face of hostility, " he said. "You see it's easy to sing when you're happy. It's easy to sing when you're among friends. It's easy to sing when times are good. But it is hard to sing when times are rough. It's hard to sing in the face of taunts and fear and the constant threat of violence. It's hard to sing when folks are being beaten, when leaders are being jailed, when churches are being bombed. It's hard to sing in times like that but times like that are precisely when the power of song is most potent."
As well as songs from the Civil Rights Movement the event included readings from famous Civil Rights speeches and writings.
Morgan Freeman was among the guest speakers at the event.
"There was no drawn out plan of ending segregation," he told a packed audience. "There was no blueprint. All of a sudden the black man said 'I'm tired of this,' and it couldn't be stopped. No governor, no President, no Army could stop it. It was like an unseen hand said 'This is it. That's enough.'"
Other performers included Yolanda Adams, John Mellencamp, Seal, the Blind Boys of Alabama, the Howard University Choir, and The Freedom Singers, featuring Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Rutha Harris, Charles Neblett and Toshi Reagon.
As the host of stars gathered on stage for the finale the President took to the mic to show off his own vocal talents.