A look back at Jimmy Carter's 1978 jazz concert at the White House, where he joined Dizzy Gillespie and other musicians in a celebration of the Newport Jazz Festival's 25th anniversary.
“There are some diplomatic strings attached — to whit, that the president himself, His Majesty, sing the lyrics to ‘Salt Peanuts,’ ” Dizzy Gillespie quipped as Jimmy Carter joined him onstage in June 1978.
As President Trump scrambles to salvage his Freedom 250 celebration after a wave of performer cancellations, it’s worth recalling a presidential concert that played out very differently: On June 18, 1978, Jimmy Carter transformed the White House South Lawn into America’s biggest jazz club, hosting more than 40 musicians to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Newport Jazz Festival. The lineup included Herbie Hancock, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Mary Lou Williams, Chick Corea and, most memorably, the legendary Dizzy Gillespie.
The event reflected more than Carter’s well-known love of music.
“A large part of his ethos as president was driven by a commitment to civil rights and to elevate Black Americans,” presidential historian Trevor Parry-Giles, co-author of. At a time when jazz rarely occupied center stage in Washington, Carter gave it the country’s most prestigious platform.
Before Prestige TV Boomed, Ted Danson's 'Gulliver's Travels' Went Big -- and Won Big at the Emmys The evening ended with Gillespie persuading the peanut-farmer president to join him in singing the bebop classic “Salt Peanuts. ” “That was one of the happiest moments of an often-unhappy presidency,” says biographer Jonathan Alter, author of.
At a time when he was battling the Iran hostage crisis, inflation and sinking approval ratings, the image of Carter giddily trading lines with Gillespie became a rare, enduring snapshot of the president at ease. Nearly half a century later, the contrast is striking. Organizers of Trump’s Freedom 250 concerts, commemorating the nation’s 250th anniversary, have struggled in vain to secure performers, with even friendly acts spurning invitations.
The president has instead shifted focus to a July 4 rally featuring luminaries like country singer Lee Greenwood, tenor Christopher Macchio and, naturally, himself. Carter, of course, faced political problems of his own . Booking talent wasn’t one of them. Taylor Swift Gives Teary-Eyed Thanks to Family at Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction: “I’ll Never Be Able to Express My Gratitude”The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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