Kennedy Center honors Grateful Dead, Francis Ford Coppola, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval and the Apollo

"Not Fade Away" closed out the Kennedy Center Honors at this year's ceremony, just as honorees The Grateful Dead had used Buddy Holly's ode to enduring love to close out hundreds of concerts over the years.

The packed house Sunday night danced in the aisles to the bouncy beat after a night of honoring the Dead and other recipients of the lifetime achievement award for artistic accomplishment: director Francis Ford Coppola, jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and singer-songwriter Bonnie Raitt. The venerable Harlem theater The Apollo, which has launched generations of Black artists, also was recognized.

Longtime Deadheads, including actors Miles Teller and Chloe Sevigny and talk show host David Letterman, paid tribute to the band's blend of musical experimentation, longevity and community-building. "Their music fills the universe," Letterman proclaimed.