Springsteen and Mellencamp Honor Jerry Lee Lewis at Rock Hall

Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp closed out the 2022 Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame induction ceremony with a rollicking tribute to the a short while ago departed Jerry Lee Lewis, executing the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer’s “High School Confidential” and “Terrific Balls of Hearth.”

The rockers ended up backed by Zac Brown Band through their barnstorming general performance. E Road Band keyboardist Roy Bittan also sat in on the jam — a fitting addition, as Lewis was popular in section for his furious piano participating in.

“One last a single for the Killer,” Springsteen stated just before beginning the performance. “Anyone know the lyrics? Can you get ’em up there?”

Lewis, who died on Oct. 28 at the age of 87, was the very last surviving member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s inaugural course of 1986, which also involved early rock and R&B luminaries this sort of as Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fat Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. “Someplace in the world, in a mean tiny honky-tonk or huge songs corridor or church basement rec space, someone is playing a Jerry Lee Lewis track,” go through a statement from Lewis’ publicist at the time of his demise.

Springsteen and Mellencamp appeared earlier in the evening to induct record government Jimmy Iovine and amusement law firm Allen Grubman, respectively, into the Rock Corridor. Both equally business powerhouses received the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which acknowledges non-undertaking music field pros who “have experienced a big affect on the innovative growth and progress of rock and roll and new music that has impacted youth tradition.”

In his speech, Springsteen remembered Iovine convincing him to give Patti Smith an unfinished demo, which turned into “Below Comes the Night time,” her largest chart hit. “With Jimmy’s advice, Patti Smith turned ‘Here Comes the Night’ into a substantial Prime 5 file – some thing I could by no means have done, due to the fact I failed to have the guts to convert it into a like track like Jimmy did,” the Boss stated.

Mellencamp, meanwhile, shared a memory of Grubman evaluating the new music industry to a “great massive motherfucking tree” that stays “substantial and unbending. On this tree are a bunch of apples. A couple continue to be firmly attached, but most of the apples, I’m sorry to say, they shrivel up and drop to the floor … sadly overlooked.” He thanked his good friend for earning confident he stayed connected to the proverbial tree.

Check out Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp’s Rock Corridor 2022 Jerry Lee Lewis Tribute