A New Class Has Been Inducted Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony took place Friday at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York, with Def Leppard, The Cure, Radiohead, Roxy Music, The Zombies, Janet Jackson and Stevie Nicks all now officially members of the prestigious institution. 

Among the ceremony highlights:

  • Stevie, the first woman to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (she’s already in with Fleetwood Mac), was introduced by One Direction’s Harry Styles, who called her the “rock ‘n’ roll Nina Simone,” adding she’s a woman, “responsible for more running mascara, including my own, than all the bad dates in history combined,” and “more than a role model; she’s a beacon to all of us.” During her somewhat rambling speech Stevie talked about a variety of subjects, and also acknowledged what her induction represents, noting, “What I hope what I am doing is opening up the door for other women to go, ‘Hey man, I can do it..”
  • As for her performance, Stevie teamed with Styles for her Tom Petty collaboration “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” and was joined by Don Henley for “Leather and Lace.” She also performed hits “Stand Back” and “Edge of Seventeen.” 
  • Only two members of Radiohead, guitarist Ed O’Brien and drummer Phil Selway, actually showed up to the induction, which means there was no performance, only a clips package of their achievements. They were inducted by Talking Heads’ David Byrne, who joked, “‘Paranoid Android’ was considered the new ‘Bohemian Rhapsody,’ whatever that means. I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, and seeing who will play Thom [Yorke].” “I’m beyond proud of what the five of us have achieved together, and I know that Radiohead wouldn’t have become what it is without the five of us,” O’Brien said in his speech, with Selway adding, “My biggest thank-you is for my brothers, Thom, Colin [Greenwood], and Johnny [Greenwood]. … We could’ve done this without this love for one another, but there’s such a deep, deep bond, and it’s a beautiful thing.” 
  • Duran Duran’s Simon LeBonand John Taylor inducted Roxy Music, noting the group was a huge influence on their band. In fact Taylor told a story of him and Nick Rhodes sneaking into sound check of a Roxy Music show at 14, noting it was then he, “realized what I wanted to be. I knew my destiny. … Without Roxy Music, there really would be no Duran Duran.” Brian Ferry called the induction an “unexpected honor,” and thanked the many musicians who made up the lineup over the years. He then reunited with Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay for a six-song set that included “In Every Dream Home a Heartache,” “Out of the Blue,” “Love Is the Drug,” More Than This,” “Avalon” and “Editions of You.” 
  • Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor was on hand to induct The Cure, admitting he was “ambivalent about the existence of certain award ceremonies." “In fact, I remember distinctly saying to myself, among other things, ‘How can I even take this awards ceremony seriously if they’ll open their doors to X, Y and Z and not acknowledge the Cure?’” he said. “Let’s just say I’ve never been as happy to eat my words as I was tonight.” Frontman Robert Smith was joined by nine past and present members of The Cure in accepting the honor, and took time to thank the band’s “much-missed” late former drummer Andy Anderson, who died of cancer last month. The band went on to play five songs, including the obscure 1984 track “Shake Dog Shake,” which was a tribute to the late drummer, as well as “A Forest,” “Love song,” “Just Like Heaven,” and “Boys Don’t Cry.” 
  • Janelle Monae inducted Janet Jackson into the Hall of Fame, calling her the “queen of black girl magic.” "I remember the first time my momma showed me a clip of our Janet Jackson. I saw this resplendent, assertive, talented girl with an afro puff on the top of her head,” she said. “And it was just so refreshing to see someone who looked like me and millions of other little black girls around the world.” Janet didn’t perform at the ceremony, but in her acceptance took time out to acknowledge her family. “I witnessed, along with the rest of the world, my family’s extraordinary impact on popular culture,” she said. “ As the youngest in the family, I was determined to make it on my own. I wanted to stand on my own two feet, but never in a million years did I expect to follow in their footsteps. Tonight, your baby sister has made it in!” 
  • The Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs inducted The Zombies, and talked about “watching them inspire a whole new generation of music lovers.” Zombies’ founderRodArgentthen mentioned some of that new generation, including Dave Grohl, Paul Weller and more. They then performed a four-song set including “Time of the Season,” “This Will Be Our Year,” Tell Her No” and “She’s Not There”.
  • Def Leppard’sinduction closed the evening, with Queen’s Brian May talking about the band’s “endurance,” mentioning drummer Rick Allen losing his arm in 1984, and guitarist Steve Clark dying in 1991. “It’s true, it did seem that every time we made some musical headway, life would knock us back down somewhat,” frontman Joe Elliott shared. “But we survived and came out the other side stronger people. And that’s the way it’s always played out throughout our career. So let’s face facts here: If alcoholism, car crashes, and cancer couldn’t kill us, the ‘90s had no f***ing chance!” 
  • The band then performed a four-song set, which included “Hysteria,” Rock of Ages,” “Photograph” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” before being joined for an all-star finale of "All the Young Dudes," which included Mott The Hoople’s Ian Hunter.

Source:Yahoo

Photo Credit: Getty Images


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