The 33rd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction Ceremony took place on Saturday night (April 14th) at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium. The 2018 inductees were Bon Jovi, the Moody Blues, the Cars, Dire Straits, Nina Simone, and early influence gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe. As with all the Rock Hall inductions, there were emotional moments — including Jon Bon Jovi‘s nearly 20-minute acceptance speech, along with former member Alec John Such playing with the band — and Richie Sambora taking the stage with Bon Jovi for the first time in five years — even performing on a song from the band’s latest album which he’s not on. On the bizarre side was Dire Straits, who were essentially inducted by themselves, minus songwriter and frontman/guitarist Mark Knopfler, who opted out of the event with no public explanation.
This year’s event introduced a new category — similar to the Grammy’s Hall of Fame, in which the Rock Hall selects “Hall of Fame Singles.” The inaugural batch, which was presented by Steve Van Zandt, were “Rocket 88” by Jackie Breston & His Delta Cats; “Rumble” by Link Wray and His Ray Men; “Louie Louie” by the Kingsmen; “A Whiter Shade Of Pale” by Procol Harum; and Steppenwolf‘s “Born To Be Wild.”
Along with the inductees performing, tributes were paid to recently deceased rockers with the Killers performing a medley of Tom Petty‘s “American Girl” and “Free Fallin’” and Heart‘s Ann Wilson with Alice In Chains‘ Jerry Cantrell performing a salute to Chris Cornell with a cover of Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun.” In addition to that, Lauren Hill brought the house down with her four-song salute to late-inductee Nina Simone.
The 2018 inductors for the ceremony were Ann Wilson for the Moody Blues; Howard Stern for Bon Jovi; the Killers’ Brandon Flowers for the Cars; Mary J. Blige for Nina Simone; Alabama Shakes‘ Brittany Howard for Sister Rosetta Tharpe, and for the first time in Rock Hall history, no inductor for Dire Straits.
As expected Howard Stern’s induction speech for Bon Jovi was an highlight of the evening and pushed the all the expected boundaries: “Few realize that Mr. Richie Sambora single-handedly considered it his mission to help women who could not get dates to feel better about themselves (laughter). Over the years, he helped women, like, Heather Locklear, Cher, Denise Richards, and countless others across the world (laughter). Thank you, Richie.”
Jon Bon Jovi made sure to thank the bands that lent Bon Jovi a hand as it made its bones on the global touring circuit in the 1980’s: “The record came out in 1984 and ‘Runaway’ cracked the Top 40. We toured the U.S. with the Scorpions and then we went to Europe with Kiss and then on to Japan with Whitesnake. We learned how to win over a crowd that doesn’t know your name, doesn’t know your songs, or even understand your language — all in 40 minutes, or less. So to all of us. . . to all of those that allowed us to open for you and to learn from you along the way, I say, thank you.”
Richie Sambora spoke with pride at Bon Jovi’s work ethic over the decades: “Songs are very profound in a way because you’re connecting with humanity. Everybody is more alike than they are not alike. So, ‘gotta say thank you to everybody in this band, because the hardest thing to do, I believe is to find four guys, with yourself, that are very, very dedicated and they’ll do anything; they’ll work hard, they’ll go crazy — whatever it took. And we did that for a really long time.”
Cars leader Ric Ocasek took time to salute the band’s bassist and co-lead singer Benjamin Orr, who died back in 2000 of pancreatic cancer at age 53: “When the band first started, Ben was supposed to be the lead singer and I was supposed to be the good looking guy in the band (laughter). But after a couple of gigs, I kinda got demoted to the songwriter, so I went with that one. But obviously it’s hard not to notice that Benjamin Orr is not here. He would’ve been elated to be here on this stage (applause) in his hometown. It feels strange to be up here without him, ’cause we miss and love him dearly.”
Dire Straits, led by co-founder John Illsey, took the stage following their introductory film without any actual induction, which proved to be the most head-scratching portion of the ceremony: “I know there’s been a lot of speculation about the fact that Mark’s not here, but I can assure you, it’s just a personal thing (nervous laughter, applause). It’s personal reasons, okay? Let’s leave it at that.”
The Moody Blues’ co-founding drummer Graeme Edge kept things light and moving along: “I’m not going to make a long speech. I’m 77-year-old, I ain’t got time (laughter). The first thing I wanna do, I wanna thank Jus(tin) (Hayward) and John (Lodge) for putting up with me for 50 years. I wanna thank me for putting up with Jus and John for 50 years and counting (laughter, applause). I wanna thank everyone in the world that’s ever helped me. Thank you (applause).”
THE SCENE BACKSTAGE
Jon Bon Jovi was asked how it felt to perform again with former bandmates Richie Sambora and Alec John Such: “Sweet. Wonderful. Nostalgic. Y’know, I love those guys forever, because when I had nothing and I meant nothing they believed in it. Y’know, and then we accomplished a lot together, so, it was a wonderful night. I hate to admit it, but now I can; I think it’s better now that it didn’t happen nine years ago when we were first eligible. I think I just have a deeper appreciation for everything I’ve been through in the last few years, to come back in the way that we did and to be given this gift, it’s not taken lightly.”
During his induction speech for Bon Jovi, Howard Stern was relentless in the ribbing he gave Rolling Stone publisher and Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner — who many believe was the central force behind preventing Bon Jovi from entering the hall for so long. Jon Bon Jovi said after the show that any hatchets have long been buried with Wenner: “Howard’s a dear friend and that’s why I asked him to do it. And in truth, I spoke to Jann and we’re totally cool, y’know, I’m good with it.”
Richie Sambora said that being in Bon Jovi meant more than making music or going to work: “One of the hardest things to do is to find four guys with you, that are dedicated — and talented — and are willing to go through the trenches and the cyclitic (sic) changes in the music business and all that kind of stuff — and the tragedies in each other’s lives. I mean we’ve been. . . deaths, married, divorced, this, that. I mean, y’know, it’s a family, really. That’s what it comes down to.”
Heart’s Ann Wilson said that her tribute to the late-Chris Cornell went far beyond merely saluting a favorite musician:”Chris was my friend and he was at the very heart of the Seattle music scene — and beyond. I miss him, but I realize that he went as far as he could in this world with his soul. He couldn’t go any farther.”
The Moody Blues’ Justin Hayward saluted the band’s fans and their persistence in finally getting the Moodies into the Hall: “The reason that we’re here right now is ’cause the Moody Blues fans, because once they opened the door to our nomination, they weren’t gonna let it close on us, so Moody Blues fans have given us a wonderful life in music, and I’m very happy with that.”
SETLIST TO SATURDAY NIGHT’S INDUCTION CEREMONY
TOM PETTY – salute
“American Girl” / “Free Fallin’” – The Killers
BON JOVI
“You Give Love A Bad Name”
“It’s My Life”
“When We Were Us”
“Livin’ On A Prayer”
SISTER ROSETTA THARPE – salute
“That’s All” – Britney Howard
“Strange Things Happening Every Day” – Felicia Collins
THE CARS
“My Best Friend’s Girl”
“You Might Think”
“Moving In Stereo”
“Just What I Needed”
CHRIS CORNELL – salute
“Black Hole Sun” – Ann Wilson & Jerry Cantrell
NINA SIMONE – salute
“I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free” – Andra Day
“I Put A Spell On You” – Andra Day
“Ne Me Quitte Pas” – Lauryn Hill
“Black Is the Color” – Lauryn Hill
“I Got Life” – Lauryn Hill
“Feeling Good” – Lauryn Hill
THE MOODY BLUES
“I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)”
“Your Wildest Dreams”
“Nights In White Satin”
“Ride My See-Saw”
