LONDON — Pianist George Shearing, who composed the iconic jazz standard "Lullaby of Birdland," and writer Michael Holroyd received knighthood in the New Year's Honors List published Saturday, while a retired milkman was acclaimed for his service.
Shearing, 87, a London native who was born blind, led the George Shearing Quintet and other notable combos in the 1950s and 1960s. He has entertained Queen Elizabeth II and was invited to play for U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
"Lullaby of Birdland," one of his 300 compositions, has become a jazz standard.
Speaking from New York on Friday, Shearing said it was "amazing to receive an honor for something I absolutely love doing. Receiving such an honor as a knighthood might also show young people what can be achieved in life if one learns his craft and follows his dreams."
Holroyd, 71, has established a stellar literary reputation with a five-volume biography of George Bernard Shaw, two volumes on the writer Lytton Strachey — best known as the author of "Eminent Victorians"— and a two-volume set on the painter Augustus John.
Milkman George Bell, 60, was one of hundreds of other names on the Honors List published by the British government on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II. Bell retired in August after delivering milk for 34 years in the Scottish village of Gullane.
"It was sometimes a 70-hour week, depending on how many coffees I stopped to have with my customers, but I didn't mind it," said Bell, who became a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE.
Honors were also bestowed on singer Rod Stewart, actress Penelope Keith and writers Alexander McCall Smith and Colin Thubron, who were named Commanders of the British Empire, or CBE.
Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne and granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II, became the first senior royal to win an honor, becoming an MBE. She is a championship equestrian.
Recipients of honors are nominated by government departments, private sector organizations and individuals, and decisions are made by committees within the Cabinet Office. Honors are bestowed in the name of the monarch, and the queen or members of her immediate family preside at ceremonies where the honors are formally conferred.