"Welcome to one of the greatest nights in music history," said co-host Jared Cotter at the beginning of Fuse’s TV broadcast of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, demonstrating exactly the sort of grasp of music history you would expect from a former American Idol contestant. It wasn’t. In fact, much of the night felt a little B-list: Ron Wood instead of Mick or Keith, Max Weinberg and Garry Tallent instead of Bruce, Rosanne Cash instead of just about anybody else (nothing against Cash, but surely they could have found a bigger name to induct rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson). Poor Spooner Oldham, the quietly dignified classic-soul keyboard legend, had to endure a hammy induction speech from Hall of Fame-perennial Paul Shaffer.
That’s not to say this wasn’t a worthy bunch of inductees. Little Anthony and the Imperials, Wanda Jackson (how was she not in the HoF already?), Spooner Oldham, Bobby Womack, Elvis sidemen D.J. Fontana and Bill Black, Jeff Beck, Run-DMC, and Metallica all deserve their slots. But the ceremony itself was often tough to sit through. With no apparent time limit on speeches and EVERY SINGLE MEMBER of each act getting to talk, the night dragged on endlessly.
Things finally seemed like they might pick up when Eminem hit the stage to induct Run-DMC. It was a rare public appearance for the rapper, who’s gearing up for a comeback album that’s due this summer. Gaunt and a little subdued, he paid heartfelt tribute with a speech based on a recurring "two turntables and a microphone" theme that didn’t quite make sense (like no other artist in hip-hop history, Run-DMC’s sound was based on having TWO mics). It was a decent-enough set-up for a performance that sadly never came. Earlier they had announced they wouldn’t be performing out of respect for the late Jam Master Jay, a decision that was both admirable and a little disappointing.
It was up to Metallica to wake things up, which, of course, they did. Playing as a five-piece with former bassist Jason Newsted, they tore through "Enter Sandman" (something less predictable might have been nice, guys…) and the entire eight minutes of "Master of Puppets." The night ended with the obligatory "jam session," in this case a megawatt version of the Yardbirds’ "Train Kept a Rollin," featuring Metallica along with former Yardbirds Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, and Ron Wood. It was a fun cap to a mostly slow night, but as usual with these things, all that heavy artillery proved overwhelming. As Paul Shaffer pointed out earlier in the night, sometimes what musicians leave out is more important than what they put in. In this case, they didn’t leave out a single thing.
But what did you think of the ceremony? Is the Hall of Fame still a big deal, or is it getting a little tired?
Eminem and Run DMC at the HoF??! gotta love them samples, drum machines and profanity…that’s REAL musicianship.
No Kiss and Rush? Those guys have huge followings and made Big Money for the record industry. Shame on the Hall of Farts. I hope they boycot this. Come on, Maddona? RunDMC? Where is Weird Al? He should be in there too!!
It must have integrity to be recognized as credible, not simply a board of private members who vote on inductees “they” think are worthy. Ask any musician (James Hatfield) how they feel about Alice Cooper not being inducted? enough said about integrity……..
It is shameful that Rush and Alice Cooper are not in the hall of fame as they are pioneers in there genre which THEY CREATED!!!
This article sucked, the person who wrote this has the intellect of a 9th grader
The whole purpose of the event is to honor the entire career span of the artists inducted. They are not there to entertain the writer of this article because he/she can’t take 5-10 minutes out of their life to listen to the artists speech and their personal feelings on their journey and honor of being inducted. Worrying about a or b list persons introducing them is entirely missing the point.
Run-DMC? I have lost all respect for the hall of fame. Don’t get me wrong…Run-DMC is a great “RAP” group, but don’t you think the the “Jonas Brothers” deserve it more?
BillSmith I hope you are kidding!?!? Or you are 13 years old and don’t understand what the Hall of Fame is. The Jonas Brothers have been around for 5 minutes. The Hall of Fame honors artists who have been around and made an impact on music. Run DMC did for rap and hip hop what Nirvana did for alternative rock.
Bill Smith: seriously the Jonas Brothers have no talent they are just huge because of disney. They lack the talent needed to be inducted
Look at MTV today. Nothing what it used to be like in the day. The Hall of Fame is following in their footsteps. Notice I left out “Rock and Roll”?!
So how come no Iggy and the Stooges in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame? How come no New York Dolls? MC5? 13th Floor Elevators? Radio Birdman? Television? Is it only the mediocre groups that last forever that get in, or are the bands that truly blazed the trails ever going to get their due? No disrespect to the folks who were inducted, especially Wanda Jackson, D.J. Fontana, Bill Black and Spooner Oldham, all great musicians who deserve their laurels, but c’mon … couldn’t Jeff Beck have waited a year or two for his SECOND induction into the R’nR HoF?
>>>Run DMC did for rap and hip hop
And rap and hip hop AIN’T ROCK! Run DMC doesn’t deserve to be inducted!
The HOF is a joke. I can understand letting early blues artists in, as it helped shape rock and roll, but come on, Run DMC? They are great for their genre, but certainly not rock. Don’t even get me started on Metallica. Any real rock and roller would have embraced Napster- instead, they took it down. BOO!
Vkole….Yes I was kidding, sarcastic, and very mad at the HOF.
Jeff Beck certainly deserved getting in (long before now), and while I’m not a headbanger I’ll give Metallica their props too. They deserve it, as do pioneers like Womack and Jackson. But Run-DMC? I gotta agree with the others who have stated that, in spite of working with Aerosmith, they simplyaren’t rock. Meanwhile, artists like Peter Gabriel and Stevie Ray Vaughan still aren’t in? Sad.
i like metallica