At Sunday’s Kennedy Center Honors, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro each appeared on stage to give special tributes to Francis Ford Coppola, while Al Pacino called him a trailblazer willing to break the first rule of Hollywood: Never put your own money in your movie projects.

“Not Fade Away” closed out the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony Sunday, 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 annual gala at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts features personalized tributes with performances and testimonials from fellow artists.