Beyonce to sing for Obama's inauguration festivities

Beyonce Knowles will sing the Etta James classic “At Last” at Obama's Tuesday inauguration festivities in Washington. The Grammy-winner said she was honored to perform for President Obama and the First Lady.

• “To sing ‘At Last’ while they have their first dance is a dream come true. I could not be more honored and excited that they have asked me to be part of this moment in history,” Beyonce said.
• The 27-year-old singer will sing for the Obamas at the Neighborhood Ball, one of 10 official balls scheduled for inauguration night.
•  For Beyonce’s reasons for picking the song, a blues expert is willing to take a few guesses. “The title can imply, ‘At last the United States has elected a black president,’ ” Greg Johnson, blues curator and associate professor at the University of Mississippi, told MTV News. 
•  “Interestingly enough, the year Etta James made this song popular, 1961, is the year Barack Obama was born,” he added.
• The song has its own storied history. James released her debut album entitled “At Last!” in 1960 which became a smash hit. In the recent film “Cadillac Records,” Beyonce portrayed the blues talent and sang the song in that movie.