    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
    [September 22, 1994]
    [Pages 1595-1596]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Rhythm and Blues Concert
    September 22, 1994

        Thank you. Please be seated. Well, we're a little late and a little
    wet, but I hope that you're as glad to be here as Hillary and I are glad
    to have you here, even though a little late. I want to thank Marilyn
    Bergman and Frances Preston for their leadership in promoting American
    music and for their help in making this evening possible.
        In this tent tonight, there are representatives of many creative
    disciplines: lyricists, composers, authors, photographers, film makers,
    dramatists, and others. All of you have heightened the way the rest of
    us experience beauty, pleasure, pain. I can't even begin to contemplate
    a world without the gifts that you have given. I'm also glad you've
    brought some great performers with you. The theme of tonight's program
    is ``Soul Tree,''

    [[Page 1596]]

    a celebration of the roots and reach of American music, soul music, in
    all of its forms: blues, gospel, jazz, country, pop, rhythm and blues,
    and rock and roll. It was all born and bred in America, from Memphis to
    Motown, from New Orleans to New York.
        In Ken Burns' new PBS series on baseball, Gerald Early, a professor
    at Washington University, says that 2,000 years from now when people
    study our civilization, there are only three things America will be
    remembered for: the Constitution, baseball, and jazz. [Laughter] Now, he
    says they're the three most beautifully designed things our culture has
    produced and the three greatest tributes to American improvisation.
        Well, wonderful as it is, and even though I used to teach it, you
    probably don't want to hear my lectures on the Constitution tonight, and
    sadly there is no baseball. So we're left with music: jazz, rhythm and
    blues, all the sounds of America's soul.
        Let's get on with the show. Thank you, and welcome to the White
    House.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:36 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to Marilyn Bergman, president,
    American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, and Frances
    Preston, president and chief executive officer, Broadway Music, Inc.