Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s Gershwin Prize Ceremony: See Metallica and Annie Lennox Honor Duo

The Library of Congress recognized Elton John and Bernie Taupin’s contributions to modern music on Wednesday night with a gala where they awarded the songwriting pair with the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song.

The event, held at Washington, D.C.’s D.A.R. Constitution Hall, included performances by the duo’s famous fans singing their songs: Metallica performed “Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding,” Annie Lennox sang “Border Song” and joined Joni Mitchell and Brandi Carlile for “I’m Still Standing,” and Charlie Puth did “Something About the Way You Look Tonight,” according to Stereogum. Other performers included Maren Morris, Garth Brooks, Billy Porter, and Jacob Lusk. John also performed “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters,” “Saturday Night’s Alright,” and “Your Song” at the ceremony.

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The concert will air on PBS on April 8.

Members of Metallica told reporters how much John and Taupin’s collaborations have meant to them. “They’re an inspiration to us,” frontman James Hetfield said, according to People. Guitarist Kirk Hammett added, “They’re responsible for some of the greatest songs of my childhood.” The band plumbed extra drama from the songs they played, judging from video posted to social media.

Lennox sang “Border Song” with a piano, some strings, and gospel backup singers, allowing her to give a soulful performance.

Carlile, who performed “Madman Across the Water,” told journalists that she might never have become a musician were it not for John and Taupin’s music. “When I discovered them, it was around 1993,” the 42-year-old told reporters, according to People. “It was the first thing I ever found in my life that was just mine. My parents didn’t like it — sorry, guys. They do now. But I was 11 and Elton was wild and outrageously dangerously fabulous. And he’s saying the most beautiful stories I have ever heard.”

Morris called John “a gay legend,” according to social media, and said the honor was “an amazing way to blend politics and music.” She added, “I actually think that they are synonymous with one another because music is just inherently political because you’re telling people’s stories.”

John met Taupin in 1967. The Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, previously said in a statement that the institution chose to recognize the duo because they’d “written some of the most memorable songs of our lives.” John recently achieved EGOT status, having won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, making this another special honor.

“I’ve been writing songs with Bernie for 56 years, and we never thought that that one day this might be bestowed upon us,” John said in his own statement. “It’s an incredible honor for two British guys to be recognized like this. I’m so honored. To be in a house along with the great American songwriters, to even be in the same avenue is humbling, and I am absolutely thrilled to accept.”

Previous Gershwin Prizewinners include Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Burt Bacharach, Smokey Robinson, and Joni Mitchell.

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