By Mark Kennedy | Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Pure pop kicked off the inductions at the the Rock & Roll Hall Fame induction ceremony on Saturday as Dua Lipa and Cher sang Believe before ceding the stage to a medley of rump shakers by funk masters Kool & the Gang, rock classics by Foreigner and Peter Frampton, and a powerhouse performance by gospel icon Dionne Warwick, bringing the house down at 83.
The inductees this year also included: Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band and posthumous recognition for Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, Norman Whitfield and Big Mama Thornton.
Where do I even begin? Cher is not one person, Zendaya said when inducting Cher. Her name is just as legendary as her legacy. Zendaya noted that Cher, 78, is the only woman to have a No. 1 hit on a Billboard chart in each of the past seven decades. Cher has got the goods, Zendaya said before the singer performed a rocking version of If I Could Turn Back Time.
In her speech, Cher said she was inspired by Cinderella and thanked her mother for instilling in her to always get back up after defeat. The one thing I got from my mom is to never give up, she said. I never give up. Im talking to the women — down and out, we keep going.
Chuck D inducted Kool & the Gang, saying This is a long-due celebration. The band had 12 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the 1980 chart-topper Celebration as well as Cherish, Get Down On It, Jungle Boogie, Ladies Night and Joanna. Theyve been eligible for the hall since 1994.
The Roots helped the band do a medley of hits that got the crowd grooving led by Robert Kool Bell — bass guitarist, co-founder and last original member — and longtime singer James JT Taylor. Confetti shot into the arena and Taylor asked the crowd to use their cellphone lights as he read off the names of 10 members who were critical to the bands success.
Dr Dre inducted Blige, who is credited with creating a completely new category of music — hip-hop soul. The nine-time Grammy-winners best-known song is Family Affair from her triple-platinum 2001 album No More Drama. When you listen to Mary, you understand youre not alone in heartbreak, Dre said.
Blige, wearing shiny black hat, a sparkly dress and long black gloves and boots, sang a mix of her hits, including Love No Limit, Be Happy and Family Affair. At the end of her set, a dancer brought up a cloak to wrap around her, in an echo of James Brown. She thanked her fans, her mom — a single mother raising children in the projects — and Method Man and Dr. Dre, who helped her earn a Grammy and an Emmy. Move with grace. Trust the journey, she advised. You are worthy.
Warwick arrived at the ceremony only a few days after attending a memorial to her longtime friend and collaborator, Cissy Houston, in Newark, New Jersey. Teyana Taylor called her truly one of a kind as well as telling off the teleprompter operator for not putting Ms. before her name. Jennifer Hudson sang Ill 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 was nominated for the Hall. I am so pleased to be here, she said. Im just going to say this and get off the stage: Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dave Chappelle helped induct A Tribe Called Quest — Q-Tip, Jarobi, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and the late Phife Dawg — the lone hip-hop group to make the cut this year. Chappelle said the group incorporated jazz and soul in a way hip-hop had never seen and they also proved you could be cool and not necessarily gangster. Queen Latifah, Busta Rhymes, Common, The Roots and De La Soul were on hand to perform a medley of Tribe hits, including Bonita Applebum, Scenario and Can I Kick It?
Sammy Hagar introduced Foreigner, and thanked their fans for their tenacity to demand inclusion. The English-American rockers — with hits like Cold as Ice, and Waiting for a Girl Like You — topped the charts in the 1970s and 80s but never made it into the Hall — much less a ballot — until last year, despite being eligible for more than 20 years.
Hagar noted that Foreigner currently tours without any original members. Thats how good the songs are, he said. Who deserves this more than Foreigner? Demi Lovato and Slash joined the touring Foreigner for Feels Like the First Time and Hagar then took lead for Hot Blooded. Kelly Clarkson thrilled with a powerful I Want to Know What Love Is but the arena erupted when original singer Lou Gramm joined her. Gramm thanked guitarist Mick Jones, sidelined in New York by Parkinsons disease.
Saturdays induction ceremony was held at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where the Hall has promised to return to every few years. A TV special with performance highlights will air on ABC on Jan. 1.
Roger Daltrey of The Who inducted Frampton. Its about bloody time! he said. Peter has had the most amazing career of all time. Its probably easier to name the people he hasnt worked with than the people he has, Daltrey said.
Frampton earned his way into the Hall in large part on the strength of his 1976 live double album Frampton Comes Alive!, buoyed by the hit songs Show Me the Way and Baby, I Love Your Way. Daltrey noted Frampton has always played with a wide smile.
A fittingly grinning Frampton — who played at last years ceremony to honor Sheryl Crow — brought on Keith Urban to trade licks on Do You Feel Like I Do and showed why he is considered one of rocks great guitarists. He hooked up his famous talk box effect and the crowd roared. I really am a lucky guy to have this amazing career, he said, thanking David Bowie for resurrecting his professional life after it had spun out.
Dave Matthews — before his bands inducement — helped honor Buffett with an acoustic version of the late singer-songwriters A Pirate Looks at Forty. James Taylor then came out to call Buffett — who popularized beach bum soft rock with the escapist song Margaritaville — larger-than-life but at the same time right-sized and always authentic. Taylor, Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally then performed Buffetts Come Monday.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before theyre eligible for induction. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises at iHeartMedia and the chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said before the ceremony that he and the Hall are trying to bring the inductions back to rocks roots, not expand the category.
What Im trying to do is bring over the aperture back up to where it was in the late 50s, where you had Brenda Lee and Hank Williams right next to Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, the Beatles. It was, at that time, this gumbo of artists. It kind of narrowed down over the years. All I can do is bring it back to its original roots.