Springsteen Center To Honor Smokey Robinson, Tom Morello

The Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music will salute Smokey Robinson, John Fogerty, Emmylou Harris, Tom Morello and Joe Ely at its third annual American Music Honors, which will take place April 26 at Pollak Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.

Springsteen has made music with several of the honorees, particularly Morello, who was a member of the E Street Band from 2012-2014. He’s also been a longtime champion of the influence of Robinson, who he’s said inspired him to write in more of a “pure pop songwriting” style.

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“It’s fun to play with the words simply,” he said during a 2005 appearance on VH1 Storytellers. “The master of this of course was Smokey Robinson, and when I write these, I tend to think of him singing them, and it gives me an idea of the phrasing.”

Springsteen will present for Fogerty and Ely, while his wife Patti Scialfi will present for Harris and E Street Band guitarist will present to Morello. Little Steven Van Zandt will present for Robinson, and his group Disciples of Soul will serve as the house band for the ceremony.

Journalist and longtime Springsteen fan Brian Williams will host the event, tickets for which go on sale March 25. Proceeds will benefit the Springsteen Center’s mission to not only preserve artifacts related to the Boss’ career but also produce exhibitions and other programs celebrating American music in all its forms.

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