Bob Dylan was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday.

The folk music icon was among the recipients of this year's Medal of Freedom - the highest civilian honor handed out by the U.S. leader.

Wearing dark glasses and sporting a pencil-thin moustache, Dylan sat stoically as Obama paid tribute to him, and refused to acknowledge the President's jokes.

Obama said, "Today everybody from Bruce Springsteen to U2 owes Bob their gratitude. There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music. All these years later, he is still chasing that sound, still searching for a little bit of truth, and I have to say that I am a really big fan."

Also honored this year: poet Toni Morrison, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut and politician John Glenn and basketball coach Pat Summit.