David Letterman was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center last night, in a ceremony which included appearances from Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Jimmy Kimmel, Amy Schumer, his old show’s legendary bandleader Paul Shaffer, and Eddie Vedder. The Pearl Jam leader performed a song by a musician who is famously one of Letterman’s all-time favorites: the late Warren Zevon.
Zevon was a regular guest of Letterman’s Late Show, sitting down for numerous interviews and performances, and even making guest appearances leading the Late Show band. Famously, Zevon’s last public performance was on Letterman’s show in 2002, after the singer-songwriter was diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma. At last night’s ceremony, Vedder performed the poignant “Keep Me In Your Heart,” a tune from Zevon’s final album The Wind, which was released only weeks before his death.
You can watch a clip from that performance and footage from the ceremony’s red carpet ceremony below (Letterman himself shows up around the 42-minute mark).
