Eddie Vedder, Jon Stewart Pay Tribute to Bruce Springsteen at the Kennedy Center Honors12/7/09, 8:00 am EST
Photo: Ngan/AFP/Getty
Washington D.C.s elite rubbed elbows with rock & roll royalty Sunday night as Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, John Mellencamp, Sting and Melissa Etheridge paid tribute to Bruce Springsteen, one of five recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors at an elaborate tribute show. Robert DeNiro, Mel Brooks, jazz pianist Dave Brubeck and opera soprano Grace Bumbery were the other honorees at the ceremony, which will air December 29th on CBS.
President Barack Obama and Michelle sat alongside the honorees in the balcony at D.C.s Kennedy Center as colleagues and friends paid loving tribute. Meryl Streep, Martin Scorcese, Harvey Keitel, Ed Norton, Sharon Stone and Ben Stiller started the night with recollections and praise for DeNiro although Stiller frequently yelled out Bruuuuce! and also said hello to the Nobel Peace Prize guy and Brooks, who he described as the Barack Obama for short, funny Jews.
Next up, Herbie Hancock explained just how pivotal Dave Brubeck was in his career, suggesting that the pianist is the reason I dont have a day job. Then Carl Reiner offered a hysterical, rambling tribute to his onetime comedy partner Brooks, before stars including Matthew Broderick, Martin Short, Harry Connick Jr., Jack Black and Jane Krakowski participated in a medley of songs from the funny mans movies and plays (although swastikas were notably absent during the Producers portion likely a nod to decorum and the presence of the Commander-in-Chief). Aretha Franklin appeared in a resplendent aqua blue sari to pay tribute to Bumbery, who she defined as a genuine diva.
Jon Stewart came onstage to begin the tribute to Springsteen, and defended his credentials, saying that even though he isnt a musician or a critic, I am from New Jersey.
The Daily Show host talked about going to see Springsteen in 1978 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, during the
Darkness On The Edge Of Town tour and explained how, growing up in central Jersey, he instantly connected with the music. When you listen to Bruces music, you arent a loser, he said. You are a character in an epic poem about losers.
Springsteen, sitting between Michelle Obama and Grace Bumbery, wearing a black shirt and black suit (no tie), with the multi-colored Honor ribbon which Stewart referred to as a rainbow dreamcatcher around his neck, looked alternately moved and embarrassed, as the tributes rolled in. Ron Kovic, author of
Born On The 4th Of July, talked about meeting Springsteen at a hotel in Hollywood and the singer telling him how moved he was by the book.
John Mellencamp appeared next, talking about buying
The Wild, The Innocent, And The E Street Shuffle in a head shop for $3.99, before dedicating a somber version of Born In The U.S.A. to the soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Next, Ben Harper did his take on My Fathers House from
Nebraska. Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland upped the energy with a rousing Glory Days, before she and Harper collaborated on Im On Fire.
Melissa Etheridge rolled out in leather pants next for a high-energy Born To Run. Then Eddie Vedder and a gospel choir did an acoustic version of My City Of Ruins. Finally, Sting came out and was soon joined by a much bigger gospel choir for The Rising, which got all of the tuxedo-and-gowned masses out of their seats and ending the evening in an uplifting, change-the-world mode, as only Bruces music can.
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