AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Jimmy Carter turns 100 on Tuesday. He's known as many things - a peanut farmer from Plains, Ga., a Nobel Prize-winning humanitarian who built houses for those in need and the 39th president of the United States. Earlier this month, in Atlanta, the Carter Center held a benefit concert in his honor. Here's NPR's Stephen Fowler.
STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: If someone asked you to name a president synonymous with music, Jimmy Carter probably wouldn't be the first one that comes to mind. There's Barack Obama and his summer playlists, Bill Clinton and his saxophone. But the peanut farmer from Plains has seen a century of moments, both personal and political, accompanied by a wide range of melodies. So what better way to celebrate the milestone than a musical who's who to benefit the Carter Center's mission to, quote, "wage peace."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JASON CARTER: My name is Jason Carter. I'm the chair of the...
(CHEERING)
CARTER: It's a good crowd. I'm the chair of The Carter Center Board of Trustees, and I want to welcome you to my grandfather's 100th birthday party.
FOWLER: The gala at Atlanta's Fox Theatre featured performances across genres and generations from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chamber Chorus to The B-52s...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
THE B-52S: (Singing) Love shack, baby. Love shack, baby. Love shack, baby.
FOWLER: ...To DJ D-Nice, India Arie and a performance from Chuck Leavell and Duane Betts, two members of the Allman Brothers Band.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHUCK LEAVELL AND DUANE BETTS: (Singing) Turn your love my way. Turn your love my way, yeah.
FOWLER: Carter backed antipiracy legislation as governor of Georgia and became acquainted with them and other Southern rock musicians of Macon's Capricorn Records. And Carter's run for president struck a chord with many musicians. The Allman Brothers held campaign concerts. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's Robert Shaw wrote a thousand-dollar check. And folk singer Oscar Brand sang the campaign song, "Why Not The Best?"
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WHY NOT THE BEST?")
OSCAR BRAND: He said his name was Jenny Carter, and he was running for president. Then he laid out a plan of action.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER")
LORETTA LYNN: (Singing) Well, I was born a coal miner's daughter.
FOWLER: The night before he took the oath of office as president, his inauguration gala featured performances from artists like composer Leonard Bernstein, Aretha Franklin and longtime family friend Loretta Lynn.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
LYNN: Maybe people will quit talking about the - or laughing about the way I talk now since the president of the United States talks the same way.
(LAUGHTER)
FOWLER: Carter's appreciation for music extends far beyond hymns and Southern rock songs as a 1978 jazz concert at the White House brought to light. Everyone from Herbie Hancock to Cecil Taylor to Dizzy Gillespie played, and the latter invited Carter up to the stage to perform the vocals to the tune "Salt Peanuts" as heard on this recording from NPR's broadcast of the festival.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
JIMMY CARTER: (Singing) Salt peanuts, salt peanuts. Salt peanuts, salt peanuts.
FOWLER: Carter told The New York Times then that he had been listening to jazz from a young age and called it an art form that helped break down racial barriers. Throughout his life, Carter's also been the subject of many musical odes in many different styles, like Lino Laskey's disco treatment...
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JIMMY CARTER SAYS YES")
GENE MARSHALL: (Singing) Can our government be competent? Jimmy Carter says yes.
FOWLER: ...And this Western-sounding tone poem from Gene Marshall.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "VIVA PRESIDENT CARTER")
LINO LASKEY: Beloved friends, see Jimmy Carter in office. Viva President Jimmy Carter.
FOWLER: It's not just from his brief time in office, either. Consider this 2011 song from Louisiana rapper Lil Wayne, fittingly called "President Carter," that uses a recreated sample of Carter taking the presidential oath of office.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PRESIDENT CARTER")
CARTER: I, President Carter, President Carter, President Carter, President Carter...
FOWLER: When Carter's beloved wife, Rosalynn, died in late November 2023, her tribute service included a performance by Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, who worked with the Carters on Habitat for Humanity projects.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRISHA YEARWOOD: (Singing) Imagine there's no heaven. It's easy if you try.
FOWLER: Even as health issues in the COVID pandemic led Carter to largely retire from public life, a 2020 documentary called "Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President" about his love of music was released, serving as a fitting reminder of nearly a century of passion for something deeper than politics.
CARTER: Music is the best proof that people have one thing in common.
FOWLER: And he says that's true, quote, "no matter where they live, no matter what language they speak."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
YEARWOOD: (Singing) Imagine there's no countries.
FOWLER: Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Atlanta.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
YEARWOOD: (Singing) It isn't hard to do. Nothing to kill or die for, and no religion, too. Imagine all the people living life... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
