The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony returned to its ancestral home of Cleveland last night (Oct. 19) for the first time in three years to welcome a class including Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest, Jimmy Buffett, MC5 and Dionne Warwick. The presentation, which streamed live on Disney+ and Hulu, will also air Jan. 1 on ABC. Among the highlights:
Ozzy Osbourne:
Already enshrined as a member of Black Sabbath, the 75-year-old Osbourne was unable to perform due to a string of health problems, but he accepted his award while sitting in a leather throne adorned with skulls and a vampire bat. The Prince of Darkness saluted his late guitarist Randy Rhoads, who played an integral role in his early solo career, as well as his wife Sharon, who he said “saved my life.”
A tribute set followed, featuring Tool’s Maynard James Keenan on vocals for “Crazy Train” and Wolfgang Van Halen handling Rhoads’ solo. Jelly Roll sang “Mama, I’m Coming Home” backed by latter-day Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, while Billy Idol took the mic for “No More Tears.” The performers hugged the seated Osbourne as they left the stage.
Dave Matthews Band:
Who knew actress Julia Roberts was a DMB super-fan? In her induction speech, she noted the group’s “joyous, spontaneous abandon” as well as their “mind-blowing musical talent, the originality [and] the sheer quantity of genres they perform.” DMB performed “Ants Marching,” “Crash Into Me,” “So Much To Say” and “Too Much” before concluding the hours-long ceremony with a surprise cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House,” which they hadn’t aired in nearly six years.
Foreigner:
The veteran mainstream rock outfit were snubbed for years before finally being inducted in 2024 after a not-so-subtle social media campaign by famous fans and friends, but due to the fact that they currently tour without a single original member, it was up to a gaggle of other rock stars to honor their legacy. Demi Lovato sang “Feels Like the First Time,” followed by Sammy Hagar leading “Hot Blooded.” Kelly Clarkson reached the top of her vocal register on “I Want To Know What Love Is,” which featured occasional contributions from original lead singer Lou Gramm. Neither original guitarist Mick Jones, who retired from touring in 2022 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, or drummer Dennis Elliott were in attendance.
A Tribe Called Quest:
The pioneering New York hip-hop act lost member Phife Dawg to complications from diabetes in 2016, and fellow member Ali Shaheed Muhammad didn’t show up for unknown reasons, but speeches by Q-Tip and comedian Dave Chappelle reminded the audience of the group’s sizable influence.
Noting that Tribe’s The Low End Theory was released on the same September 1991 day as Nirvana’s Nevermind and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Chappelle said, “being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is not something that a black kid in New York in 1985 would ever even imagine to dream of. And I don’t believe that was ever the point of A Tribe Called Quest. They met on a train. They met at school. They played basketball together. They just used what they had. And the first thing they had was each other, as friends.”
In lieu of a Tribe on-stage reunion, house band the Roots welcomed Natives Tongues collective members Busta Rhymes, Queen Latifah, De La Soul and Common for performances of “Scenario,” “Bonita Applebum” and “Can I Kick It?”
Cher:
Cher’s induction extended the ongoing “what is rock’n’roll” debate, especially considering her 2022 proclamation on Clarkson’s daytime TV show that she wouldn’t accept the Rock Hall’s invitation “if they gave me a million dollars.” Admitting that friends such as David Geffen helped her change her mind, the 78-year-old icon also offered a message of empowerment “to the women. We’ve been down and out, and we keep striving and we keep going and we keep building and we are somebody. We are special.”
To start the evening, Dua Lipa sang Cher’s late ’90s comeback smash “Believe,” yielding the stage to a Bob Mackie gown-attired Zendaya for the official induction. “Her voice is so singular that any song she sings becomes a Cher song,” she enthused. “She’s navigated a multitude of musical genres, defined new ones and reinvented others.”