Barack Obama honours Stevie Wonder

Barack Obama has honoured Stevie Wonder with the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize at a ceremony at the White House.

The new US President claimed that a shared love of the Motown legend was "part of the essence" of his courtship with First Lady Michelle Obama.

He said: "Stevie has always drawn on the incredible range of traditions in his music and, from that, he's created a style that's at once uniquely American, uniquely his own, and yet somehow universal.

"Indeed, this could be called the American tradition - artists demonstrating the courage, the talent to find new harmonies in the rich and dissonant sounds of the American experience."

Accepting the award, Wonder said: "What is truly exciting for me today is that we truly have lived to see a time and a space where America has a chance to again live up to the greatness that it deserves to be seen and known as."

Last year, Obama described Wonder as his "musical hero". Wonder's hit 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered' was played prominently during his election campaign.