About 300 guests, including Jack Black, Edward Norton, Matthew Broderick, Ben Stiller, Martin Scorsese, Philip Seymour Hoffman celebrated the group with a reception in the East Room of the White House before the show. "I’m not a music critic, nor historian, nor archivist," Stewart said. "But I am from New Jersey. And so I can tell you what I believe. ... I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby." Timberland boots saluted Brooks with a rendition of "Men in Tights," and Harry Connick Jr. sang "High Anxiety." "By illuminating uncomfortable truths — about racism and sexism and anti-Semitism," Obama said, "he’s been called 'our jester, asking us to see ourselves as we really are, determined that we laugh ourselves sane.'" "Oh my God, it’s Bruce Springsteen!" he said. "Bruuuuce!" "It tops all of them," she said. "First of all it’s my country, and secondly it’s the greatest award we have in this country for the arts." Later, Jacqueline Kennedy invited Bumbry to sing at the White House. Associated Press Writer Natasha Metzler contributed to this report. rocker was lauded with Kennedy Center Honors along with Robert De Niro, comic genius Mel Brooks, jazz pianist and composer Dave Brubeck and opera singer Grace Bumbry. And Springsteen played a rock concert in East Berlin for 160,000 people just 16 months before the Berlin Wall fell — a concert many Germans remember 20 years later, Clinton said. Several of the honorees, Clinton said, have been at the forefront of cultural diplomacy. Brubeck, who turned 89 on Sunday, was sent abroad in the Cold War, she said, to serve as an ambassador with his music in countries teetering between democracy and communism. The show will air nationwide Dec. 29 on CBS. John Mellencamp sang "Born in the U.S.A.," Jennifer Nettles from Sugarland did "Glory Days" with a country twist, Melissa Ethridge rocked the house with "Born To Run" to a standing ovation and Sting ended the musical tribute with "The Rising" with help from a choir. "In every time and every culture, artists have lit the way toward progress," she said. "They’ve helped to provide a common language, a fabric that weaves us together as human beings." The jordan shoes were heartfelt for the 66-year-old De Niro, too, though. Meryl Streep opened with a tribute to her friend who she said was exacting with details as an actor, director and producer. As the air foce ones goes, Stewart said Dylan and Brown abandoned the child on the New Jersey Turnpike, and the child was raised by "a pack of feral vaudevillians. That child is Bruce Springsteen." On the red carpet Sunday, Katie Couric said she talked to the Salahis quite a bit at the dinner and joked that everyone is going to be on the lookout for party crashers. And the show wouldn’t have been complete without a riff on the Nazis. Matthew Morrison from TV’s "Glee" sang "Springtime for Hitler." Brooks saluted back with a black mustache held over his lip. Carol Burnett led a series of toasts at a more private celebration for the honorees Saturday at a dinner hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. A surprise list of stars performed as part of the nation’s highest honors for those who have defined American culture through the arts. It’s an awards show that opens with the national anthem and spans jazz, opera, movies and rock ’n roll — part of a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy. "He did what I and my drama school friends dreamed of — to disappear and morph into a (character)," she said. "And then it’s Nobel Peace guy," he said of the president. "I think when all my awards go to e-Bay, it will be the last," Brooks said of the Kennedy Center medallion before the show. "That’s how much I treasure it." Springsteen, 60, described the award he received on Saturday night at a State Department dinner as different than other accolades. Jon Stewart opened the tribute to Springsteen, recounting his theory on how The puma shoes came to be. Then there’s the more irreverent arts. Even the mention of Brooks’ number "Springtime for Hitler" from "The Producers" was enough to draw chuckles. "I think security is a little tighter here," she said. Later, Aretha Franklin recounted highlights from Bumbry’s career. As a 25-year-old singer, Bumbry broke racial barriers in 1961 when she was invited to perform in a production of Wagner’s "Tannhauser." She would be the first black opera singer to appear at Germany’s Bayreuth, a shine to the composer’s work. Many conservative opera-goers were infuriated. But by the end of the performance, the audience applauded for 30 minutes and drew 42 curtain calls. "We worked really hard for our music to be part of American life and our fans’ lives," he said. "So it’s an acknowledgment that you’ve kind of threaded your way into the culture in a certain way. It’s satisfying." ___ The gala is Obama’s first big event since Micheale and Tareq Salahi slipped past White House security on Nov. 24. The Secret Service runs security for Kennedy Center events the president attends, and everyone who enters must have a ticket that will be checked at the door. When Stiller came out to honor De Niro, he got distracted. Brooks, 83, said it’s special to receive the honor during the Obama administration. He said he would whisper something in the president’s ear about the need for more federal funding for the arts. Stewart had first lady Michelle Obama doubled over laughing. And The Boss, seated next to her, even cracked a smile. Bumbry, 72, said returning to meet Obama for the award was the highest honor she has received. "These performers are indeed the best," Obama said. "They are also living reminders of a single truth — and I’m going to steal a line from Michelle here — the arts are not somehow apart from our national life, the arts are the heart of our national life." Obama joked at the White House that there was a method to Brooks’ "madness." Related thematic articles: UN says climate finale may have happy ending, All Of The UN says climate finale may have happy ending