Washington ( CNN ) -- President Barack Obama complained Tuesday that he does n't get out much . Then he noted he does n't have to when B.B . King and Mick Jagger come to play a concert at his house . The blues and rock legends were at the White House for a PBS performance series in the East Room honoring the history of blues music . A lineup of top blues performers past and present offered a selection of standards that displayed all the raw elements of a distinctly American musical genre originating from the days of slavery . Obama even got in the act . When goaded by blues giant Buddy Guy , he sang a verse of the rollicking finale `` Sweet Home Chicago . '' Earlier , Obama described the genre as a form of oral history that bore witness to the struggles of African-Americans . `` The blues reminds us that we 've been through tougher times before , '' Obama said . `` That 's why I 'm proud to have these artists here not just as a fan but also as the president because their music teaches us that when we find ourselves at a crossroads , we do n't shy away from our problems . We own them . We face up to them . We deal with them . We sing about them . We turn them into art . And even as we face the challenges of today we imagine a brighter tomorrow . '' Blues music , Obama said , `` speaks to something universal , '' because `` no one goes through life without joy and pain , triumph and sorrow , '' and the blues encompasses all of that `` sometimes with just one lyric or just one note . '' `` In Performance at The White House : Red , White and Blues , '' scheduled in February as part of Black History Month , featured longtime blues greats King and Guy playing with contemporary musicians Shemekia Copeland , Trombone Shorty , Keb ' Mo ' and Gary Clark Jr . The evening also recognized the British blues invasion of the 1960s with performances by rock pioneers Jagger and Jeff Beck . Renowned rockers Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band also took part , along with Susan Tedeschi , a blues guitarist and singer who is married to Trucks and forms a Grammy-winning band with him . Most of the assembled performers took the stage for an opening rendition of `` Let the Good Times Roll , '' after which the 86-year-old King -- playing ringmaster from his seat at center stage -- offered his encouragement for the president 's re-election bid . `` Mr. President , I 've been praying for you for three years , and I want you to keep your job , '' King said to applause . Republican candidates blast Obama . The event was emceed for PBS by actress and singer Taraji Henson , who commented on the somewhat surreal juxtaposition of the evening 's lineup and setting . `` I never dreamt in a million years that I would ever say these next five words , and certainly never thought that I 'd be saying them right here at the White House , but , ladies and gentlemen , Mick Jagger , '' Henson said in introducing the original Rolling Stone . In appropriate rock star fashion , Jagger ran onstage to dance and sing `` I Ca n't Turn You Loose '' backed by the `` house '' band led by Booker T. Jones . Before his second number -- a cover of the Howlin ' Wolf song `` Commit a Crime '' performed with fellow Brit Beck -- Jagger talked about his introduction to the blues as a young man in England with the music of Sonny Boy Williamson . Recounting how Williamson visited London and even dressed the part in bowler hat with umbrella in hand , Jagger added : `` He said those English boys , they want to play the blues real bad , and they do -- real bad . '' Copeland and Tedeschi then joined Jagger to provide background vocals on his Rolling Stones hit `` Miss You . '' In a tribute to the roots of the blues , Copeland and Clark performed a moving version of `` Beat Up Guitar , '' and Clark followed with `` Catfish Blues '' and Mo ' did a solo version of `` Henry . '' Tedeschi , Trucks and Haynes played a tribute to Etta James with a powerful rendition of her classic `` I 'd Rather Go Blind , '' and Jagger returned to join Guy , Beck and Clark for blues standard `` Five Long Years , '' originally written and recorded by Eddie Boyd . The finale brought the entire ensemble on stage one more time to serenade the president and first lady with the tribute to their hometown , with Obama welcoming them as the `` White House Blues All Stars . '' The roughly 200 guests , including Cabinet members Kathleen Sebelius , John Bryson and Jacob Lew , stood and clapped at Obama 's prompting , then shrieked when the president took the microphone after Guy called him out about his recent impersonation of singer Al Green . `` I heard you singing Al Green , '' Guy said , waving for Obama to indulge him . `` You started something . You got to keep it up . '' Obama did , a bit hesitant at first and then gaining gusto , offering the microphone to King at one point to help him finish the verse . While Obama 's voice may have lacked the power of the other performers , it was a presidential musical performance unseen since Bill Clinton on the saxophone .
White House tribute ends with Obama singing along to `` Sweet Home Chicago '' B.B . King , Mick Jagger , Buddy Guy and others perform in the East Room . Obama says blues music `` speaks to something universal '' that we all feel at some point or another about our place on this earth.