Pure pop music began urging in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Saturday, as Dua Lipa and Cher sang “Believe” before ceding the stage to a medley of funk tracks by funk masters Kool & the Gang, rock classics by Foreigner and Peter Frampton, and a powerful performance by gospel icon Dionne Warwick, bringing the band into its groove. It dropped at 83.
the Recruits This year also included: Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, the Dave Matthews Band, and a posthumous tribute to Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Alexis Corner, June Mayall, Norman Whitfield, and Big Mama Thornton.
“Where do I start? Cher is not one person,” Zendaya said when introducing Cher. “Her name is as legendary as her legacy.” Zendaya noted that Cher, 78, is the only woman to hold the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart in each of the past seven decades. “Cher’s got the goods,” Zendaya said before the singer performed a swing version of “If I Could Turn Back Time.”
In her speech, Cher said that she was inspired by Cinderella and thanked her mother for instilling it in her to always bounce back after defeat. “The one thing I got from my mom is never give up,” she said. “I never give up. I talk to women – we keep going.”
Chuck D introduced Kool & the Gang saying “This is a long overdue celebration.” The band has had 12 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including 1980’s chart-topping hit “Celebration” as well as “Cherish”, “Get Down On It”, “Jungle Boogie” and “Ladies Night”. And “Joanna”. They have been eligible for the Hall since 1994.
The Roots helped the band do a variety of songs that thrilled the crowd, led by Robert “Cole” Bell – guitarist, co-founder and last original member – and longtime singer James “JT” Taylor. Confetti shot into the arena and Taylor asked the audience to use their cell phone lights as he read out the names of 10 members who were crucial to the band’s success.
Dr. Dre hired Blige, who is credited with creating an entirely new category of music – hip-hop. The nine-time Grammy Award winner’s best-known song is “Family Affair” from her 2001 triple-platinum album “No More Drama.” “When you listen to Mary, you understand that you’re not alone in heartbreak,” Dre said.
Wearing a shiny black hat, sparkly dress, gloves and tall black boots, Blige sang a medley of her hits, including “Love No Limit,” “Be Happy” and “Family Affair.” At the end of her set, a dancer brought a cape to wrap around her, in an echo of James Brown. She thanked her fans, her mother — a single mother raising children in the projects — Method Man and Dr. Dre, who helped her secure a Grammy and Emmy win. “Move with grace. Trust the journey,” she advised. “You are worthy.”
Warwick arrived at the ceremony just a few days after attending a memorial service for her friend and longtime collaborator, Cissy Houston, in Newark, New Jersey. Teyana Taylor called her “truly one of a kind” as well as chastising the teleprompter operator for not putting “Ms.” Before her name. Jennifer Hudson sang “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” and was joined by Warwick, who also sang “Walk On By.”
Warwick said this year was the third time she has been nominated for the hall. “I’m so happy to be here,” she said. “I’ll say this and walk off stage: Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Dave Chappelle helped introduce A Tribe Called Quest — Q-Tip, Jarobi, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, and the late Phife Dawg — the only hip-hop group to find success this year. Chappelle said the group fused “jazz and soul in a way that hip-hop had never seen before” and they also proved that it could be “cool and not necessarily gangster.” Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Common, The Roots, and De La Soul were on hand to perform a variety of Tribe’s hits, including “Bonita Applebum” and “Scenario and “Can I Kick It?”
Sammy Hagar presented the film Foreigner, and thanked their fans for their persistence in demanding inclusion. The English-American rock band — which had hits like “Cold as Ice” and “Waiting for a Girl Like You” — topped the charts in the 1970s and 1980s, but never made it to the Hall — let alone the ballot — until last year. Despite being qualified for over 20 years.
Hagar noted that Foreigner is currently touring without any original members. “That’s how good the songs are,” he said. “Who deserves this more than a foreigner?” Demi Lovato and Slash joined the foreign tour for “Feels Like the First Time” and Hagar then took the lead on “Hot Blooded.” Kelly Clarkson was thrilled with “I Wanna Know What Love Is” but the scene erupted when original singer Lou Gramm joined in. Gram thanked guitarist Mick Jones, who missed New York due to Parkinson’s disease.
The induction ceremony was held Saturday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where the hall has promised to return every few years. A TV special with highlights will air on ABC on January 1.
Roger Daltrey of The Who recruited Frampton. “It’s bloody time!” He said. “Peter has had the most amazing career ever. It’s probably easier to name the people he hasn’t worked with than the people he has,” Daltrey said.
Frampton made his way into the Hall largely on the strength of his 1976 live double album “Frampton Comes Alive!”, bolstered by the hits “Show Me the Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way.” Daltrey pointed to Frampton. He always played with a big smile.
A smiling Frampton — who played at last year’s concert honoring Sheryl Crow — brought out Keith Urban to spin on “Do You Feel Like I Do” and showed why he’s considered one of rock’s great guitarists. He delivered his famous talking box effect and the crowd cheered. “I’m really a lucky man to have such a wonderful career,” he said, thanking David Bowie for reviving his career after it had ended.
Dave Matthews, before enticing his band, helped pay tribute to Buffett with an acoustic version of the late singer-songwriter’s “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” Then James Taylor came out to call Buffett — who popularized beach soft rock with the escapism song “Margaritaville” — “larger than life but at the same time just right in size and always authentic.” Taylor, Kenny Chesney and Mac McNally performed Buffett’s song “Come Monday.”
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they are eligible for the definition. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
John Sykes, president of iHeartMedia’s entertainment enterprises and chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said before the ceremony that he and the hall are trying to bring induction back to rock’s roots, not expand the category.
“What I’m trying to do is bring the slot back to what it was in the late 1950s, where you had Brenda Lee and Hank Williams next to Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles. It was just like that at that time, those kind of artists narrowed over the years, All I can do is bring it back to its original roots.
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