Now in its third year, the American Music Honors convened on Saturday evening at Monmouth University in unforgettable fashion. Presented by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, the annual event honors American artists who have achieved excellence as musicians while also championing creative and social integrity. This year’s class included a star-studded roster featuring Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello and Joe Ely. In a powerful moment of social resistance during these vexing times, Springsteen led the inductees in a passionate rendition of Woody Guthrie’s folk anthem, “This Land Is Your Land.”
Held at the Jersey Shore University’s Pollak Theatre, the American Music Honors were hosted by television journalist Brian Williams. The annual ceremony is the brainchild of visionary music industry veteran Bob Santelli, the Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, whose leadership has been behind some of the nation’s most vaunted institutions, including the Grammy Museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Experience Music Project.
The show kicked off in fine style with Springsteen’s induction of Ely, who was unable to attend the event in person. “If the world was a fairer place,” said Springsteen, “Joe Ely would have been huge! I mean huge! He had, and has, got it all. He’s a great songwriter, he looks dead cool, he’s a fabulous stage performer, always with a great band, and he’s got that voice. The voice I wish I had.” With the Disciples of Soul serving as the house band, Springsteen performed a soaring rendition of Ely’s “All Just to Get to You.”
During a ceremony that included such legends as Robinson and Fogerty, Morello nearly stole the show after being inducted by Nils Lofgren. “It’s an honor to be here at the last big awards event before they throw us all in jail,” said Morello, the gifted guitarist from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. “It’s important to note there’s never been a successful social movement in this country that has not had a great soundtrack. Joe Hill’s union anthems put wind in the sails of those fighting for an eight-hour day. "We Shall Overcome" steeled the resolve of the Freedom Riders in the Civil Rights movement. Jimi Hendrix’s "Star-Spangled Banner" channeled the moral cacophony of the Vietnam War through a Marshall stack, and one or two Rage Against the Machine songs were heard pumping in the streets at anti-Trump demonstrations last week.”
Bruce Springsteen and Tom Morello performing at the American Music Honors. (John Cavanaugh)With the Disciples of Soul and bandleader Marc Ribler in tow, Springsteen and Morello performed a searing version of “The Ghost of Tom Joad,” Springsteen’s moving paean to the oppressed and the disenfranchised. As the song reached its apex, the two musicians served up a sizzling guitar duet for the ages.
Up next was Harris, who was inducted by Patti Scialfa. “Music really did give me my heart and my life,” said Harris. “So much of the music I’ve loved doing has been singing with other people. I think I really found my voice when I started singing harmony with Graham Parsons, and the road has just gone on and on.” Harris and Scialfa turned in a moving take on “Red Dirt Girl,” the title track from the country-folk legend’s hit studio album of the same name.
When it came to Fogerty, Springsteen didn’t mince words while inducting one of American music’s most prolific singer-songwriters. “John’s been able to condense everything—good and painful, joyful and serious—about this country we live in, in two minutes and 30 seconds.” Not surprisingly, three of Fogerty’s classic compositions were featured during the ceremony, including “Bad Moon Rising,” “Fortunate Son” and “Proud Mary.”
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In a moment of pure reverence, the capacity crowd took to its feet during Steven Van Zandt’s induction of Motown legend Smokey Robinson. “I have singer heroes, songwriter heroes, song-arranger heroes, and music producer heroes, and when you get all of them in the same guy, you get Smokey Robinson,” said Van Zandt. Together, Robinson and Van Zandt performed a lively duet on “Tears of a Clown,” Robinson and the Miracles’ 1970 chart-topping hit.
As with previous years, the evening concluded with a series of showstopping encores, including Springsteen’s performance of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out.” Last year’s inductee, Jackson Browne, took the stage for a spirited rendition of “Take It Easy” before giving way to Morello, who introduced the show’s final number. “Since this is the Center for American Music, standing at the center of American music is a fella by the name of Woody Guthrie,” said Morello, who pointedly sang the “censored” lyrics of the classic folk song. Guthrie “always stood up for the poor, the downtrodden, for those on the lowest rungs of the ladder. He expressed it on his guitar, which said ‘This machine kills fascists.’”
With Guthrie’s daughter Nora joining him on stage, Springsteen assembled a star-studded band that included Morello, Harris, Fogerty, Browne, Van Zandt, Scialfa, Lofgren and previous inductee Darlene Love for “This Land Is Your Land,” expurgated lyrics and all. It was a dazzling showcase, to say the least.
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