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----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blinken Brings House Down With ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ Performance. Antony Blinken was joking he would likely 'clear out the house' as he picked up a guitar to deliver a faultless rendition of a blues classic during a State Department reception.
The Secretary of State got up on stage to sing blues legend Muddy Waters' Hoochie Coochie Man at a reception for the State Department's music diplomacy program on Wednesday - a video of which he promptly posted on social media.
Blinken's performance started with him saying: 'If this doesn't clear the house, I don't know what will.'
As he played the first chords and began to sing, guests - many of them his staff at the State Department - cheered him on, with some even shouting out in excitement.
Blinken seemed a born performer as he swayed on stage without missing a beat. When the song finished, the crowd sprung to their feet and gave him a standing ovation for his rendition.
The newly-launched initiative will see top artists from the US travelling to countries including China and Saudi Arabia - with support from the government.
Blinken also pursues his passion for music outside the State Department with his band called Ablinken, which even has original songs Lip Service and Patience available on Spotify.
Jazz icon Herbie Hancock, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame, and rising young pop singer Gayle also performed at the reception.
US pop culture for decades has dominated much of the globe although it has mostly grown without government support.
During the Cold War, the United States eagerly sent artists to woo audiences overseas, including many Black artists who at the time were forced to play in segregated venues in parts of their own country.
As part of Blinken's new initiative, Herbie Hancock - who played at the reception - will travel to Jordan on the anniversary of a 1963 tour by jazz pianist Duke Ellington. He will also pay a first-of-its-kind trip to Saudi Arabia, a strict Islamic state that has only recently begun opening to public music performances.
The Philadelphia Orchestra will head to China in November to mark 50 years since its first tour to the Asian country in 1973 -- then largely closed to the world and winding down the Cultural Revolution.
The Global Music Diplomacy Initiative will bring a new generation of tours, with plans for travel to 30 countries over the coming year by a range of American acts.
The initiative will also see US rappers heading to Nigeria to discuss using music to address conflict.
'For generations, US diplomacy has worked to harness the power of music to actually build bridges, to foster collaboration between Americans and people around the world,' Blinken said in a speech before his performance.
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