Bruce Springsteen Honors John Fogerty at American Music Honors

The 2025 American Music Honors, presented by the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey, gathered legends of rock, country, soul and Americana Saturday night for an evening of memorable performances and heartfelt tributes. But by the time guest of honor Bruce Springsteen took the podium at the Pollak Theatre, even he had enough of himself.

“If I hear my name again, I’m going to fucking throw up,” Springsteen joked. “Let’s talk about fucking someone else.”

With that, the spotlight shifted to the evening’s honorees: Smokey Robinson, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello, John Fogerty and Joe Ely. Each was celebrated by a standout lineup of presenters and performers including Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Steve Van Zandt, and Nils Lofgren. The night, hosted by Brian Williams, also featured a surprise performance from 2024’s honoree Jackson Browne. Browne joined Springsteen, Morello and the house band — The Disciples of Soul under the direction of Marc Ribler— for a raucous encore of “Take It Easy,” the Eagles classic Ribler co-wrote with Glenn Frey.

Ely, the Texas troubadour and progressive country pioneer, was recognized by Springsteen, who spoke reverently of his longtime friend, who could not attend due to health issues. Springsteen reminisced about his 30-plus year friendship with Ely, recalling a wild night in Dublin with Ely and Jerry Lee Lewis. Ed Gray accepted Ely’s award on his behalf. Springsteen then returned to the stage with the Disciples of Soul for a fiery rendition of “All Just to Get to You.”

Lofgren inducted Morello with a tribute highlighting Morello’s blend of musical brilliance and political activism. “Tom melds styles and genres like nobody else,” Lofgren said. “He loves and combines them all in a soul soup that’s all his own.”

Morello delivered a passionate acceptance speech touching on justice, activism, and humor, calling himself the “only Ivy League, Star Trek-loving nerd in the world’s biggest political rock-rap band.”

“It is an honor to be here at the last big awards event before they throw us all in jail,” Morello said. “All music, in my opinion, is political. There has never been a successful social movement in this country that did not have a great soundtrack.”

Morello cited “We Shall Overcome” and Hendrix’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” further adding that “one or two Rage Against the Machine songs were heard pumping in the streets at anti-Trump demonstrations last weekend,” drawing applause. Morello and Springsteen followed with a searing performance of “The Ghost of Tom Joad.” Robinson later joked that Morello had his vote if he ever ran for office.

Scialfa gave a warm introduction for Harris, praising her chart-topping success and unique voice. “She’s got it all — and that hair. It’s hard to get a song to No. 1. I’m speaking to my husband,” Sclialfa said, referencing how husband Springsteen has famously never had a Number One-charting song.

Harris accepted the award with grace and humility, recalling performing with Gram Parsons before joining Scialfa on the haunting “Red Dirt Girl.” “I just feel almost unreal to be in this company,” Harris said. “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.”

In a sweet moment, Harris asked for a sip of tea for her dry throat, then used the moment to praise Springsteen’s “Nebraska” as inspiration for her songwriting sessions in the ’80s.

Taking the stage again, Springsteen introduced Fogerty with high praise, calling him “the Hank Williams of our generation.” Listing off Fogerty’s hits — including “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” — Springsteen confessed that “I’ve never had a No. 1 hit. People ask what songs I wish I’d written. My answer? John Fogerty’s entire catalog.”

In his speech, Fogerty spoke of singing in church and forming Creedence Clearwater Revival. He told the crowd that he “wasn’t prepared for the greedy part” of the music industry, recalling his infamous decades-long struggle to take back ownership of his catalog. “The worst part was I didn’t own my own songs,” he said, thanking his wife Julie for helping him get them back in 2023. “You girls already know this, but behind every man is a great woman.”

He and Springsteen launched into “Bad Moon Rising,” sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Robinson was the final inductee, introduced by Van Zandt, who gave a deep dive into Robinson’s influence from “Shop Around” with The Miracles to his solo work and songwriting for others.

“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,” Van Zandt said. “One can obviously connect a dozen of my songs to his influence.”

Robinson kept his speech short and humble before joining Van Zandt for a spirited duet of “Tears of a Clown.”

“I am honored to be a member of your American Music Honors, Bruce,” Robinson said.

The encore saw Springsteen, Van Zandt, and Robinson jump into “Going to a Go-Go,” before Browne returned for “Take It Easy” with Lofgren on accordion. Fogerty closed with “Proud Mary” and “Fortunate Son.”

Springsteen’s own “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” had him deep into the crowd, igniting the room. The night concluded with a stirring, full-cast rendition of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land,” led by Morello and featuring the rarely sung, once-censored final verse. Darlene Love and Nora Guthrie, Woody Guthrie’s daughter, joined in.

Notable faces in the audience included photographers Danny Clinch, Pam Springsteen, and Rob DeMartin. former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, director Thom Zimny, songwriter Steve Forbert and former Knicks player and U.S. senator Bill Bradley. Additional speakers included Monmouth University President Dr. Patrick Leahy, New Jersey Lt. Governor Tahesha Way, and Bob Santelli, executive director of the Springsteen Archives.

The Springsteen Archives, currently housed on the Monmouth campus, celebrates Springsteen’s legacy while honoring American greats like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson and Frank Sinatra. A new building is expected to open in summer 2026.