Friday night, the Rock 'N Roll Hall Of Fame welcomed the class of 2023 with a live broadcast of the ceremonies from the Barclay Center in Brooklyn. Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners were all inducted, along with DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray for musical influence, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin for musical excellence; and Don Cornelius for the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
The ceremony aired live on Disney+, where you can still view the four-plus hour ceremony in its entirety. Let's go over the high points and performances of the evening:
- The show kicked off with inductee Sheryl Crow and Olivia Rodrigo duetting on "If It Makes You Happy." Laura Dern gave Sheryl's induction speech, after which Stevie Nicks joined Sheryl on stage for "Are You Strong Enough To Be My Man." Sheryl then brought out Peter Frampton to help them on "Every Day Is A Winding Road." Sheryl gave her acceptance speech, in which she thanked her family for all the music they shared with her, their "unconditional love - and piano lessons."
- Next up was hip hop pioneer DJ Kool Herc, inducted by LL Cool J, who gave a history lesson on the birth of hip hop and Herc's role as "the father of hip hop."
- Jazmine Sullivan gave the induction speech for Chaka Khan, before introducing Sia, H.E.R. and Common to perform with Chaka on a medley of "I Feel For You/Ain't Nobody/Sweet Thing/I'm Every Woman."
- Next up, Andrew Ridgeley to induct friend and former Wham! partner George Michael. Miguel performed "Careless Whisper," Adam Levine did "Faith," and Carrie Underwood sang "One More Try."
- Then came the induction of The Spinners. New Edition came out to perform a musical tribute, a medley of "I'll Be Around/Could It Be I'm Falling In Love/Rubberband Man."
- "Soul Trail" creator and host Don Cornelius was then honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
- This was followed by Big Boi, who inducted Kate Bush in her absence. St. Vincent performed Kate's "Running Up That Hill"
- Al Kooper was then inducted, honored for his musical excellence.
- Willie Nelson was introduced by way of Dave Matthews playing Willie's "Funny How Time Slips Away" before giving his induction speech. Willie then took the stage to play "Whiskey River" with Chris Stapleton. Sheryl Crow then joined Willie for "Crazy." Willie closed things out for his segment singing "On The Road Again" with Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow and Chris Stapleton joining him.
- Early guitar legend Link Wray was inducted next by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, who expressed the immense influence Wray had on him as a budding teenaged guitar player. Page then played Wray's classic "Rumble."
- Elton John came out to induct songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, before performing "Tiny Dancer"
- Then the Rock N' Roll Hall Of Fame honored rock and pop legends we've lost in the last year - and the other awards shows should take note, as no one was missed, and the list was extensive. The "In Memoriam" segment honored Tina Turner, Christine McVie, Cynthia Weil, Anita Pointer, Linda Lewis, Jane Birkin, Burt Bacharach, Vivian Trimble, Martin Duffy, Randy Meisner, David Crosby, Dusty Street, Rodriguez, David Lindley, Floyd Sneed, Russell Batiste Jr., Aaron Spears, Jeremiah Green, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins, John Gosling, Huey "Piano" Smith, Pete brown, Keith Reid, Dino Danelli, Jimmy Buffett, Gordon Lightfoot, Dwight Twilley, Ian Tyson, Billy "The Kid" Emerson, Chuck Jackson, Thom Bell, Mark The 45 King, Gangsta Boo, Barrett Strong, Tommy Facenda, Dickie "Be-Bop" Harrell, Gary Wright, Terry Kirkman, Wayne Shorter, Harry Belafonte, Jeff Beck, Gary Rossington, Anthony "Top" Topham, George Tickner, Bernie Marsden, Lasse Wallender, Tom Verlaine, Wilko Johnson, Van Conner, Tim Bachman, Robbie Bachman, Steve Harwell, Jet Black, Dean Daughtry, Gordy Harmon, Sheldon Reynolds, Fred White, Trugoy The Dove, Irene Cara, Steve Mackey, Andy Rourke, Magoo, Rita Lee, Astrud Gilberto, Terry Hall, Rudolph Isley, Charlie Thomas, Lisa Marie Presley, Tony Bennett, Sinead O'Connor and Robbie Robertson. Following the lengthy and exhaustive roster of incredible talent the music world has lost, Sheryl Crow, Chris Stapleton, Elton John and Brittany Howard performed The Band's "The Weight."
- Ice-T inducted Rage Against The Machine, represented by guitarist Tom Morello.
- Queen Latifah inducted Missy Elliot, who performed a medley of her biggest hits including “Get Ur Freak On” “The Rain,” “Pass That Dutch,” “Work It” and “Lose Control" to close out the show. Missy is the first female rapper inducted into the Hall.
You can still watch the awards show in its entirety on Disney+.
Source: Billboard