David Letterman is nearing his 11th hour hosting the "Late Night" comedy show, which he has done since 1982 (before moving the show to CBS in 1993) and is now the longest serving late night host on television, just ahead of Johnny Carson.

According to the Washington Post, Letterman has been greeted by many returning celebrities, most of whom he had interviewed over the past three decades on numerous occasions. They have been, in one way or another, paying homage to his departure with silly antics and even pushing the broadcast limits, including a show with Tina Fey giving him the shirt (dress) of her back. He even got a visit from Steve Martin and Tom Hanks.

But last night, he got a performance from one his long-standing musical guests, Eddie Vedder, who appeared on the show without Pearl Jam.

The night turned out to be strongly overshadowed though by Vedder's performance of the hit Pearl Jam single from the '90s, "Better Man," played out with Letterman's very own Paul Shaffer. Vedder was quick to point out Shaffer on the piano during the performance and the song went down in true Pearl Jam rocking style.

According to the New York Daily News, Vedder has been a mainstay over the past 20 years on the Letterman show, appearing several times over the two-decade span. He even showed up unannounced one night in 1996 to help clear up a dispute Letterman had with Schaffer in regards to the Pearl Jam song "Black" from their debut album. The comical dispute was how many times Vedder sung the chorus during the song. Of course Vedder set the record straight back then with comical humility.

The performance of "Better Man" last night was a true homage to Letterman, with a powerful intensity that even saw one of Vedder's guitar strings break.

Letterman has always been a fan of Pearl Jam and he even let them perform a concert in 2006 after an appearance on the show in the Ed Sullivan Theater.