Paul McCartney to receive Gershwin Prize for Popular Song

Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is set to receive the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

The prize is a US Library of Congress honour, named for US composer brothers George and Ira Gershwin, many of whose original works are part of the Library's huge collection.

It has been previously been bestowed on the likes of Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder.

"It is hard to think of another performer and composer who has had a more indelible and transformative effect on popular song and music of several different genres than Paul McCartney," Adelaide Now quoted Librarian of Congress James Billington, who selected the British icon, as saying.

McCartney, 67, is due to visit Washington in early 2010 to collect the prize.