When David Letterman took the stage at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 8 in Los Angeles, he wasn’t just paying tribute to a friend and frequent guest on his late-night talk show. He was paying forward a piece of Jewish-American rock history.

During his final appearance on Letterman’s Late Show in 2002, Warren Zevon, who was terminally ill, performed “Keep Me in Your Heart.” He later gifted his guitar to the comedian.

Letterman brought that guitar to the Nov. 8 ceremony, where Zevon was inducted into the Hall of Fame and given the Musical Influence Award posthumously. Standing beside the instrument, Letterman told the audience that he had cared for it for 22 years.

“By God, tonight it’s going back to work,” he said, per a transcript that Variety published.

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