Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony Includes David Bowie Tribute

On Friday night, Brooklyn’s Barclays Center hosted this year’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony which saw N.W.A, Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple and Steve Miller enter the Rock Hall. The evening also featured a number of performances starting with a show-opening tribute to David Bowie in which David Byrne, The Roots and Kimbra teamed up for a powerful take on “Fame.” Watch how it went down thanks to fan-shot footage from MarchofTheRashbaum:

The Roots were supposed to perform at a pair of Bowie tributes last weekend, but pulled out due to equipment sharing issues. Former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne had inducted David Bowie into the Rock Hall back in 1996. Following the Bowie tribute, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich inducted Deep Purple into the institution. The current incarnation of Deep Purple then performed a mini-set that included “Hush,” “Midnight Star” and “Smoke On The Water.” Sadly, there was no surprise appearance from guitarist Ritchie Blackmore who stayed true to his word of not showing up due to tensions with his former mates. The event continued with E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt honoring Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement recipient, songwriter/producer Bert Berns.

Steve Miller was inducted by Black Keys’ Patrick Carney and Dan Auerbach. Miller made big news backstage when he ripped into the Rock Hall’s process during a press conference. “The whole process needs to be changed…It doesn’t need to be this hard. There’s nothing fancy going on out there that requires all of this stuff,” Steve said. A rep for the Rock Hall tried to stop Miller’s rant, but he responded “No, we’re not going to wrap this up…Here’s what you need to know: This is how close this show came to not happening because of how the artists are being treated right now.” Miller’s speech accepting his induction also took aim at the Rock Hall. “I encourage you to keep expanding your vision, to be be inclusive of women, to be more transparent in your dealings with the public and most importantly, to do much more to provide music to our schools,” Steve declared ahead of teaming with the current Steve Miller Band for “Fly Like An Eagle,” “Rock’n Me” and “The Joker.”

Watch The Black Keys induct Miller, Steve’s acceptance speech and “Fly Like An Eagle” captured by MarchofTheRashbaum:

Legendary rap act N.W.A. decided not to perform at last night’s ceremony. Kendrick Lamar gave a speech inducting the group. Lamar’s speech mentioned, “the fact that a famous group can look just like one of us and dress like one of us, talk like one of us, proved to every single kid in the ghetto that you can be successful and still have importance while doing it.” Dr. Dre and MC Ren were among the members who accepted the honor. Watch N.W.A.’s induction speeches:

Many of the music legends who died over the past 12 months were honored with an In Memoriam montage. Grace Potter and Sheryl Crow teamed up on a tribute to Glenn Frey by covering the Eagles’ “New Kid In Town.” Watch fan-shot footage via dgold61:

Chicago was inducted into the Rock Hall by Matchbox 20 frontman Rob Thomas. While Peter Cetera didn’t turn up to accept the award or perform with his old mates, five of the original seven members of Chicago did. Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider and Danny Seraphine all spoke, with drummer Seraphine performing with Chicago last night for the first time in 25 years. The band’s three-song set started with “Saturday In The Park” and saw Thomas contribute to “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” ahead of the “25 Or 6 To 4” closer. Watch Chicago perform “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” featring Rob Thomas shot by dgold61:

Cheap Trick were the evening’s last inductees. Kid Rock inducted the original members of the band including drummer Bun E. Carlos, who put aside his issues with his three old band mates on Friday night. Bun E. Carlos’s first performance with Cheap Trick since 2010 included spot-on renditions of “I Want You To Want Me,” “Dream Police” and “Surrender.” Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WmoZxeNrrg&nohtml5=False

In true Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame tradition, the evening came to a close with an all-star jam. Cheap Trick, Steven Van Zandt, Sheryl Crow, Steve Miller, Rob Thomas, Glenn Hughes, Grace Potter and David Coverdale came together with members of Chicago and Deep Purple for a cover of Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That A Shame”:

The induction ceremony will air on HBO April 30.

[via Rolling Stone]