Earth, Wind and Fire is among Kennedy honorees

By ASHRAF KHALIL

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Actress Sally Field and the long-running children’s TV show “Sesame Street” are in the latest class of Kennedy Center Honors recipients.

Others chosen to receive the award for lifetime achievement in the arts include singer Linda Ronstadt, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas and the musical group Earth, Wind and Fire, which played in Youngstown earlier this month.

The recipients announced Thursday will be honored during a gala ceremony in early December.

Field was a television star at age 19 and went on to forge a distinguished career that included two Academy Awards and three Emmys.

“Sesame Street” debuted in 1969 and remains a force in children’s educational television. The co-founders of “Sesame Street,” Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, will accept the award on behalf of the show.

Ronstadt was one of the faces of American music in the 1970s and ’80s, landing on the cover of Time magazine in 1977.

Earth, Wind and Fire was originally formed in Chicago by lead singer Maurice White. The group drew elements from rhythm and blues, funk, and disco in a flashy crowd-pleasing mix that spawned eight No. 1 hits. Songs such as “September” and “Shining Star” remain in heavy rotation for both radio station programmers and wedding DJs.