Bruce Springsteen returning to White House to receive National Medal of Arts

Bruce Springsteen is going back to the White House.

The Boss will receive a 2021 National Medal of Arts from President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden during a Tuesday, March 21, East Room ceremony.

Springsteen, a Freehold native, was previously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House in November of 2016.

Mindy Kaling, Gladys Knight, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Vera Wang, artist-activist Judith Francisca Baca, philanthropist Fred Eychaner, José Feliciano, Puerto Rican painter Antonio Martorell-Cardona and film producer Joan Shigekawa, along with the organizations The Billie Holiday Theatre and The International Association of Blacks in Dance, will also receive National Medals of Arts on Tuesday.

Poet Richard Blanco, anthropologist Johnnetta Betsch Cole, author Walter Isaacson, social historian Earl Lewis, Native American studies academic Henrietta Mann, novelist Ann Patchett, activist Bryan Stevenson, novelist Amy Tan, memoirist Tara Westover and novelist Colson Whitehead, as well as the organization Native America Calling will receive National Humanities Medals Tuesday at the White House. The bestowment honors those who have improved Americans' understanding and engagement with history, literature, philosophy and other humanities subjects.

Biden awarded British singer Elton John with a National Humanities Medal for his contributions to music and fighting AIDS in September.

More:Springsteen and the E Street Band rock Philadelphia after illness hiatus

Springsteen is cited as “one of our greatest performers and storytellers,” according to the National Medal of Arts.

“Bruce Springsteen’s music celebrates our triumphs, heals our wounds, and gives us hope, capturing the unyielding spirit of what it means to be American.”

The ceremony will be streamed live at 4:30 p.m. ET Tuesday via whitehouse.gov/live.

The last National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal ceremony took place Jan. 13, 2021, under President Donald Trump, when 2020 recipients were bestowed.

More:Bruce Springsteen, Barack Obama Spotify podcast: Road to Broadway started at White House

More:Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rock Philadelphia after illness hiatus

Obama called Springsteen the Boss during the 2016 Medal of Freedom ceremony.

“I thought twice about giving him a medal named for freedom because we hope he remains, in his words, a ‘prisoner of rock ‘n’ roll’ for years to come,' ” Obama said.

Later, the roots of Springsteen's hit play, “Springsteen on Broadway,” were planted at a White House performance in the final days of the Obama presidency in 2017.

“I got the invitation and I said, ‘Well, I am not going to put the band together and make a big noise,’ ” said Springsteen on the “Renegades: Born in the USA” podcast on Spotify, starring Obama and Springsteen. “I said, ‘Well, I'll go down and play some acoustic songs.’ So I said, ‘Well, what could I do to make that a little different? Well, I’ll read from my book and I'll play a few songs.' ”

It was a hit for Obama and the White House staff.

“I get up on stage afterwards and I say, ‘Dude, you, you got to do that for some other people,’ ” Obama said. “I can't be this greedy where we’re the only ones who get to hear this?”

“Springsteen on Broadway” debuted Oct. 3, 2017, at the Walter Kerr Theatre to rave reviews.

Springsteen and the E Street Band play TD Garden in Boston on Monday, March 20, and play the KeyBank Center in Buffalo on Thursday, March 23.

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on Bruce Springsteen and the New Jersey music scene.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen a National Medal of Arts winner from Joe Biden