Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Why the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Was the Best in Years
After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 2021 class with a wild, surprise-guest-filled party held in the town many argue is the ceremony’s only rightful home: Cleveland, Ohio. What a homecoming it was. Paul McCartney became a seventh Foo Fighter. LL Cool J, Eminem, and J. Lo blew up the night like old-school hip-hop Avengers. And later, LL was the only person on the arena floor to stand and clap for the late, great Biz Markie. Both Carli(s)les — Brandi and Belinda — were in the house. Drew Barrymore did Ponds performance art. [embedded content][embedded content] The Go-Go’s swore to use their induction to get more female bands into the painfully male-dominated institution. And, randomly, Survivor host Jeff Probst was there — the sol...
Barack Obama, Dave Chappelle Induct JAY-Z Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
JAY-Z joined the likes of The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, N.W.A., and Public Enemy by becoming the latest hip-hop icon to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Not surprisingly, HOV received a star-studded introduction led by former president Barack Obama. “I’ve turned to Jay-Z’s words at different points in my life, whether I was brushing dirt off my shoulder on the campaign trail, or sampling his lyrics on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march to Montgomery,” said President Obama. “Today, Jay-Z is one of the most renowned artists in history and an embodiment of the American dream, a dream he has helped make real for other young people like him.” Following Obama’s remarks, a who’s who of A-list stars — including JAY-Z’s wife Beyoncé, Rihanna, Chris Ro...
Paul McCartney Inducts Foo Fighters Into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Watch
Foo Fighters joined the ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the final act enshrined during Saturday night’s induction ceremony. Following his induction into the Rock Hall as a member of Nirvana in 2014, Foo Fighters’ mastermind Dave Grohl saw his name etched into history for a second time. But for Grohl and the rest of the band, Pat Smear’s long-overdue induction into the Hall of Fame was the biggest highlight of the evening. The 62-year-old Smear played in some of music’s most influential bands, including the Germs and Nirvana, but it wasn’t until Foo Fighters received that rightful place in the hallways of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until Smear received the recognition he long deserved. Sir Paul McCartney was on hand to introduce Foo Fighters. In his speech, he c...
Taylor Swift Inducts “Greatest Songwriter of All Time” Carole King into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Taylor Swift kicked off the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony by introducing “the greatest songwriter of all time,” Carole King. Prior to her speech, Swift took the stage to cover “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”, the modern pop standard originally written by King in 1960. You can watch fan-captured footage of the performance below. In her introduction speech, Swift recalled “being raised by two of her biggest fans, who taught me the basic truths of life as they saw it: That you should treat people the way you want to be treated, that you must believe that you can achieve whatever you want to in life, and that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time.” Advertisement Related Video “Her songs speak to the true and honest feelings that everyone has felt, is curren...
LL Cool J Performs “Rock the Bells” with Eminem at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony: Watch
LL Cool J celebrated his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a star-studded performance featuring surprise appearances from Eminem and Jennifer Lopez. The veteran rapper performed a medley of his greatest hits, kicking off with the one-two punch of “Rock Around the Clock” and “Going Back to Cali.” Eminem, who himself will likely be a first-ballot inductee of the Rock Hall once he becomes eligible next year, then joined LL Cool J for a spirited rendition of “Rock the Bells.” LL Cool J closed the set by performing “I’m Bad,” “All I Have” with Lopez, and “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Advertisement Related Video Watch fan-captured footage of the performance below. During tonight’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, LL Cool J was presented with the Musical Excellence Awa...
The 22 Worst Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Snubs
This article originally ran in 2013 and has been updated. As of 2021, Kraftwerk and Tina Turner have finally graduated from our list of worst snubs, while Daft Punk and others now qualify. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has revealed the inductees for its class of 2021. They include JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk and LL Cool J. Sadly, nominees Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Chaka Khan, DEVO, Iron Maiden, New York Dolls, Dionne Warwick, Fela Kuti and Mary J. Blige will have to wait another year for possible induction. Advertisement Those left out, however, aren’t exactly in poor company. Many great artists have been shut out from the warm confines of the Cleveland institution. Here’s a list of 22 artists who have...
Foo Fighters Bring Glorious, Stadium-Size Rock to Rare Club Show
“Well this is nice, this is quaint,” Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said, taking in the audience Thursday night at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. He tucked his mane behind both ears like a professor adjusting his reading glasses. It’s been a while since Grohl, 52, could recognize faces from the stage since he mostly performs to thousands in football stadiums. “How the hell did everyone get tickets for this?” Grohl joked. “I’m just assuming, a good internet connection?” The spectacular one-off show marked the beginning of Rock Hall weekend. On Saturday, a Beatle will induct all six members — Grohl, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer Taylor Hawkins — into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Foos...
Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie to Present at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2021
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced an all-star list of presenters that will induct the 2021 nominees including Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, and Todd Rundgren. The ceremony will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 20. The star-studded event will take place October 30 at Rocket Mortagage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, and Gil Scott-Heron are being inducted in the Early Influence category, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, and Randy Rhoads in Musical Excellence, and Clarence Avant for the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The official all-star presenter list includes Angela Bassett inducting inducting Tina Turner, with performances by Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R., and Bryan Adams; Taylor...
Todd Rundgren on Working with Kanye West, Skipping His Rock Hall Induction: “True Halls of Fame Are for Retirees and Dead People”
If you live in Maui, like Todd Rundgren does, you do not have to apologize for just chillin’ your way through the pandemic. Rundgren, though, has done anything but that. The veteran multi-hyphenate — producer of landmark albums for Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad and others, as well as his own robust repertoire — has been characteristically hard at work and, save for being off the road, has not slowed down a great deal during the past 19 months. He even went “on tour” earlier this year with a series of virtual concerts, performed from Chicago and targeted to specific cities. Rundgren has also released four singles during the past year or so, slated for his next album, Space Force. That includes collaborations with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo (“Down With the Ship”), Narcy (“Espionage”) and, most r...
After 6 Rejections, Kraftwerk Have Finally Been Inducted Into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
After being denied entry six times, pioneering electronic group Kraftwerk have finally been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For decades the Kraftwerk’s work has been sampled, remixed, and studied by artists across nearly every genre, with a heavy emphasis on electronic music. In a statement from the museum itself, they state that what we hear today might not have been possible without the band’s contributions. “[Kraftwerk] established the blueprint for modern electronic music – without them it simply would not exist,” the statement reads. Also joining Kraftwerk in the Hall’s Class of 2021 are Tina Turner, Carole King, Jay-Z, The Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, Charley Patton, Gil Scott-Heron, LL Cool J, Billy Preston...
Gene Simmons Rips “Disgusting” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for Not Inducting Iron Maiden and Rage Against the Machine
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-05-13T20:51:28+00:00“>May 13, 2021 | 4:51pm ET On Wednesday, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame revealed its Class of 2021, including Foo Fighters, Tina Turner, JAY-Z, Todd Rundgren, The Go-Go’s, and Carole King. Among the finalists who didn’t make the cut were Iron Maiden and Rage Against the Machine, leading Gene Simmons to call the institution “disgusting.” Back in 2018, Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson declared he and the band would refuse induction, saying the Rock Hall is “run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock ‘n’ roll if it hit them in the face.” RATM, meanwhile, are likely more focused on current political events than any musical honors. Tha...
Jay-Z & Tina Turner Lead Inductees To 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
HipHopWired Featured Video Source: Robert Kamau / Getty The 2021 class for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially been announced and while there are many well-deserving artists you won’t be too familiar with on the list (no shots), there are a few whose music probably gets burn to this day. According to The New York Times, music icons such as Jay-Z, Tina Turner, and LL Cool J, lead the inductees to be enshrined into the walls of the museum in Cleveland, OH. While we expected Jay and Tina to get the votes to make it into the hall, this would mark LL Cool J’s sixth nomination and he once again missed the votes to be immortalized. However, he gets inducted thanks to a music excellence award granted to artists “whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on...
