And that's why tonight
we're here to celebrate U2. Great musical poets
for the ages. (applause) Once upon a time,
a young Larry Mullen Jr. pinned up a flyer at school. "Drummer seeks musicians
to form band." (laughter) Larry was joined after school
for that first practice by a young Adam Clayton, a kid already anointed
inexplicably as Bono... (laughter) ...and another who would
soon ditch his given name for The Edge. (laughter) It was the beginning
of a musically-charged chemical reaction, something
that would transform the young men from schoolmates
into colleagues, bandmates into brothers, and lead them to distill
the human experience into songs that would stand
the test of time. You can trace all of this
to the band's prayer. "To be useful."
Useful to the music. Useful to other human beings,
to the world. Bono has often said that
being famous is nonsense, celebrity is nonsense,
but it is currency. And the band has spent
its currency to show the usefulness
of art in the world. To help us honor them, please welcome
the extraordinary artist and my great friend
Eddie Vedder. ♪<i> Whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo, whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> High, higher than the sun</i> ♪ ♪<i> As if we just begun</i> ♪ ♪<i> I need you to
elevate me here</i> ♪ ♪<i> At the corner of your lips</i> ♪ ♪<i> As the orbit of your hips</i> ♪ ♪<i> Eclipse, you elevate my soul</i> ♪ ♪<i> Got no self-control</i> ♪ ♪<i> Been living like a mole</i> ♪ ♪<i> Now going down, excavation</i> ♪ ♪<i> I and I in the sky</i> ♪ ♪<i> You make me feel
like I can fly</i> ♪ ♪<i> So high</i> ♪ ♪<i> Elevation</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo, whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo,
whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo, whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo,
whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Love</i> ♪ ♪<i> Lift me out of these blues</i> ♪ ♪<i> Won't you tell me</i> ♪ ♪<i> Something true?</i> ♪ ♪<i> Yeah, I believe in you</i> ♪ ♪<i> Help me</i> ♪ ♪<i> Yeah</i> ♪ ♪<i> A mole digging in a hole</i> ♪ ♪<i> Digging up my soul now</i> ♪ ♪<i> Going down, excavation</i> ♪ ♪<i> I and I in the sky</i> ♪ ♪<i> You make me feel
like I can fly</i> ♪ ♪<i> So high</i> ♪ ♪<i> Elevation</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo, whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo,
whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo, whoo</i> ♪ ♪<i> Whoo.</i> ♪ (applause) <i> ANNOUNCER:
Our U2 tribute continues</i> <i> with Eddie Vedder
and an all-star finale.</i> <i> The Kennedy Center Honors.
This is CBS.</i>
