The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music hosted the third annual installment of its American Music Honors event on Saturday, April 26, with the star-studded event saluting John Fogerty, Smokey Robinson, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello, and Joe Ely.
The ceremony took place in West Long Branch, New Jersey, at Monmouth University’s Pollak Theater.
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Bruce Springsteen himself and members of his E Street Band served as presents at the ceremony. The event featured speeches by most of the honorees, as well as some unforgettable onstage collaborations.
Serving as the evening’s house band was E Street Band guitarist “Little Steven’ Van Zandt’s solo group The Disciples of Soul. Fan-shot video clips of a variety of highlights from the ceremony have been posted on YouTube.
Springsteen Honored Joe Ely and John Fogerty
The event’s first honoree was influential progressive country artist Ely, who was unable to attend because of health reasons. Springsteen presented the award to Joe, and avid Ely fan Ed Gray was on hand to accept the honor.
According to a recap of the ceremony posted on HollywoodReporter.com, Bruce discussed his decades-long friendship with Ely and recalled a crazy night he, Joe, and the late Jerry Lee Lewis once spent together in Dublin.
Springsteen then performed an inspired rendition of Ely’s 1995 song “All Just to Get to You.” Bruce contributed backing vocals to the original version of the tune.
Later on, Springsteen returned to the podium to salute Fogerty.
According to HollywoodReporter.com, the Boss called the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman “the Hank Williams of our generation.” He then listed the many classic songs Fogerty wrote, then remarked, “People ask what songs I wish I’d written. My answer? John Fogerty’s entire catalog.”
In his acceptance speech, Fogerty talked about the formation of CCR, and the long struggle he had getting back the rights to the songs he wrote for the band. John also praised his wife, Julie, for helping him finally secure ownership of his songs in 2023.
“You girls already know this, but behind every man is a great woman,” he told the crowd.
Springsteen then joined Fogerty to perform the CCR classic “Bad Moon Rising.”
Van Zandt Honored Smokey Robinson
Van Zandt had the privilege of introducing Motown icon Robinson, who was the event’s final honoree.
Little Steven praised the multi-talented Robinson, while discussing Smokey’s influential career with The Miracles, as a solo artist, and as a successful songwriter and producer for other acts.
“I have singer heroes, songwriter heroes, song arranger heroes, and music producer heroes, and when you have all of them in the same guy, you get Smokey Robinson,” said Van Zandt. “One can obviously connect a dozen of my songs to his influence.”
After a short and humble speech by Robinson, he then performed his classic 1970 Miracles hit “Tears of a Clown” with Van Zandt. Springsteen then joined them onstage for a version of the 1965 Miracles gem “Going to a Go-Go.”
Patti Scialfa Honored Emmylou Harris
E Street Band backing singer, and Bruce’s wife, Patti Scialfa presented the American Music Honors award to folk/country legend Harris.
In her speech, Harris reminisced about her days performing with late country-rock great Gram Parsons. Reflecting on being recognized alongside the evening’s other luminaries, Emmylou commented, “I just feel almost unreal to be in this company. I just remember myself as a 16-year-old sitting in my room listening to a radio show, playing all the folk music from 1964 to ’65, and it’s hard to believe that I am standing here amongst all these other honorees.”
Scialfa joined Harris to perform a version of Emmylou’s 2000 song “Red Dirt Girl.”
Nils Lofgren Honored Tom Morello
E Street Band multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren welcomed Rage Against the Machine guitarist Morello as one of the event’s honorees.
Lofgren tipped his hat to Morello’s brilliant musicianship and his passion for political activism.
“Tom melds styles and genres like nobody else,” Nils said. “He loves and combines them all in a soul soup that’s all his own.”
In his speech, Morello discussed the current political climate, touching on themes of social justice, activism and more. He also quipped that he was the “only Ivy League, Star Trek-loving nerd in the world’s biggest political rock-rap band.”
Springsteen joined Morello to perform a version of Bruce’s 1995 acoustic folk gem “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” Morello has recorded his own solo rendition of the song and contributed guitar and vocals to an updated version Springsteen released on his 2014 studio album High Hopes.
Jackson Browne Was a Surprise Performer During the Event’s Finale
Following the presentations and Robinson’s performances, Jackson Browne made a surprise appearance on stage. Browne, who was a 2024 American Music Honors inductee, played a version of his classic “Take It Easy,” which he co-wrote with late Eagles co-founder Glenn Frey and was a 1972 hit for that band. Springsteen, Morello, and Lofgren also took part in the performance.
Fogerty then returned to rock out two more Creedence Clearwater Revival classics with Springsteen—“Proud Mary” and “Fortunate Son.”
The Boss then showcased one of his own enduring songs, “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” with Morello and Nils Lofgren joining in.
For the finale, all the honorees, presenters, and special guests came together for a heartfelt rendition of the classic Woodie Guthrie song “This Land Is Your Land.” Also hitting the stage for the performance were Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, and 1960s girl-group legend Darlene Love.