Former President Jimmy Carter's 100th birthday is October 1, and his supporters weren't planning on waiting that long to throw a party.
A parade of Georgia luminaries lit up the historic Fox Theatre on Peachtree Street on Tuesday, and in a city that boasts sleek new modern glass-and-steel venues like the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center and Eastern Center, fittingly reflecting the city's growing profile, organizers chose Atlanta's oldest concert hall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Carter's birth.
Jimmy Carter is four years older than Fox Theatre.
“Not everybody is going to live to be 100 years old,” said Jason Carter, the grandson of a former president and a Georgia gubernatorial candidate in 2014. “But if someone does live to be 100 years old and they use that time to do good, that's something worth celebrating.”
There was little sentimentality at the event, which featured video testimonials from Jon Stewart, Bob Dylan and others projected on screens and was interspersed with footage of famous musicians from the time who visited the White House.
Headliners included five-time Grammy Award-winning Benin native Angélique Kidjo, Bebe Winans and Carlene Carter, who is no relation to the former president.
“I was pretty jealous when my mother, June Carter, and her husband, Johnny Cash, visited him at the White House because I thought so highly of him even back then,” said Carlene Carter, 68. “Both he and June often alluded to the fact that we were, in fact, related, and I assumed they were, as he and my mother both had that Carter 'spark'. When Jimmy Carter was president, it was clear to me that he only wanted what was best for this country and all of mankind. I view him as a very special, spiritual soul, so when people ask me if we're related, I always say, 'I hope so.'”
“He has these ideals and he lives them personally,” Stewart said in a video message.
“This is a lesson in living life with intention.”
“You were arguably the first rock 'n' roll president,” Dave Matthews said in a happy birthday message projected on the screen.
As the Atlanta Symphony Chorus chose to sing “The Road Home” for the opening refrain, the host quietly acknowledged a heartbreaking truth usually avoided in polite conversation in the region: the imminent end of Carter's life.
Carter has been receiving hospice care at his home in Plains, Georgia, for 578 days since February 2023. The average stay in hospice care is about 17 days, according to a National Institutes of Health analysis. Carter's wife of 77 years, Rosaline, died last year after spending a few days in hospice care.
“I'm just trying to make an effort to vote for Kamala,” he told his grandson, Jason Carter, last month.
“You know, my grandfather wished he could be here tonight,” Jason Carter said Tuesday. Georgia Public Broadcasting will broadcast the concert on Jimmy Carter's birthday in a few weeks. “I have no doubt he'll be in front of the TV watching,” Jason Carter said.
Many of the artists performing have ties to Georgia, including rock group Drive-By Truckers, members of the Allman Brothers, Chuck Leavell, and the B-52s.
The B-52s formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976 while Carter was campaigning for president. Carter was 52 and lead singer Fred Schneider was 25. The B-52s played a farewell concert at Fox last January.
The event raised funds for the Carter Center in Atlanta, which promotes health and defends democracy around the world.
More recently, the Carter Center, in collaboration with other international democracy advocacy organizations, released a Model Set for Genuine Elections, a set of concrete steps that government leaders and democracy advocates can take to help strengthen democracy.
Jimmy Carter founded the Carter Center 42 years ago.
