Rock and Roll Hall of Fame turns 25

Bono and Mick Jagger

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame turns 25 this year, and to celebrate, they invited a long list of inductees to perform two star-studded concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. The first night featured Crosby, Stills and Nash, Paul Simon (with longtime partner Art Garfunkel), Stevie Wonder and John Fogerty; night two brought out Jeff Beck, Metallica, U2, Aretha Franklin and Annie Lennox. Sting, Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Lee "Great Balls of Fire" Lewis appeared both nights.

Each headlining act was joined by a parade of guest performers, ranging from the relatively youthful (John Legend) to the downright venerable (Sam Moore of Memphis soul act Sam and Dave, who poked a little fun at himself with a T-shirt that read, "Burnt out star"). Among the shows' more memorable (and surreal) pairings were Stevie Wonder and Sting, getting funky together on Wonder's "Higher Ground"; the Boss with Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, who added his spooky guitar effects to Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad"; and Lou Reed and Metallica, teaming up for a hard-rocking version of the Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane." Less surprisingly, Ozzy Osbourne also joined Metallica for a few Black Sabbath songs.

The culmination of the two nights was a freewheeling set by U2 that saw the Irish rock gods sharing the stage with Springsteen, Patti Smith, Mick Jagger and the Black Eyed Peas. Whew! A four-hour special featuring highlights from both concerts will premiere on HBO on Nov. 29.