ABC News RadioIn the run-up to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday night in Brooklyn, NY, three out of the five acts being honored had some kind of disagreement with past bandmates. But at the ceremony itself, nobody had anything bad to say — at least publicly — about the bad blood, even though the absence of some inductees was glaring.
Deep Purple saw eight of its 14 members inducted, but one of them — guitarist Ritchie Blackmore — decided to skip the ceremony, reportedly after the band’s current lineup arranged to perform without consulting him. But once onstage, all the members who were present — Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, spoke fondly and highly of Blackmore and his musical talents.
Paice noted, “Bands are a weird conglomeration of people. You can work together, and you can create wonderful things, and then you find that you can’t deal with each other….But when it works, it’s pretty damn good. There’s nothing better.” After the speeches, Deep Purple performed “Highway Star,” “Hush” and, of course, “Smoke on the Water.”
The band was inducted by Deep Purple superfan Lars Ulrich of Metallica, who gave an impassioned speech in which he wondered why it took so long for Purple to be inducted, since they’ve been eligible since 1993. “Every hard rock band in the last 40 years, including mine, traces its lineage directly back to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple,” said Lars, who first saw the band live at the age of nine in his home country of Denmark. “And as far as I’m concerned, these three bands should always be considered equals.”
Steve Miller was inducted by the Black Keys, who gave a humorous speech which Dan Auerbach began by noting, “Miller was born in Milwaukee.” His bandmate Patrick Carney added, “A lot of Millers come from Milwaukee, but only one of them wrote ‘Fly Like an Eagle,’ because cans of beer can’t write songs.”
After running through Miller’s career highlights, Carney ended by saying, “The Space Cowboy, the Gangster of Love, some people call him Maurice. It’s finally time to have a fourth persona of a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.”
Miller and his band took the stage to play “Fly Like an Eagle,” “Rock ‘n Me” and “The Joker,” the song he claimed saved his career. In his speech, he also called for the Hall of Fame’s induction process to become more transparent, and for more women to be inducted.
Pioneering hip-hop group N.W.A. was inducted with a poetic speech by acclaimed Compton, CA rapper Kendrick Lamar. “The impression was just that they [were] trying to kill people,” Lamar said of the gangsta rappers. “[But] to be very clear, 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.”
N.W.A. didn’t perform, but each member spoke. In his remarks, group member MC Ren called out Gene Simmons of Kiss for criticizing the inclusion of rap into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “I want to say, to Mr. Gene Simmons, hip-hop is here forever!” said Ren. “Get used to it! We supposed to be here!”
Group member Ice Cube hammered that point home, noting, “The question is, Are we rock & roll? And I say, you g**damn right we rock & roll!…Rock & roll is a spirit… Rock & roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock & roll, and that is us.”
Chicago was up next; they were inducted by Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas. Ex-vocalist and bass player Peter Cetera decided to boycott the ceremony due to a disagreement over their performance, but onstage, Lamm spoke well of Cetera. Drummer Danny Seraphin, who played with the band for the first time in 25 years, gave a profane and funny speech, and snapped “Screw You” when told to wrap it up.
Chicago performed “Saturday in the Park,” “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” — with Rob Thomas guesting on vocals — and “25 or 6 to 4.”
Cheap Trick were the final inductees, and they were ushered in by Kid Rock, who said “They had a punk soul, a pop heartbeat and Beatles ambitions.” He added, “They’re a club band, a bar band, a working band…and more than 40 years later, and more than 5,000 gigs, they’re still going strong.” Zander told the crowd, “Our fans really deserve this honor more than anyone for sticking up for us as long as they have.”
Cheap Trick had been estranged from their original drummer, Bun E. Carlos, but Friday night, he did reunite with Robin Zander, Tom Peterson and Rick Nielsen for the first time since 2010. “I Want You to Want Me,” “Surrender” and “Dream Police” made up their set. The all-star jam at the end of the night featured everyone playing Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame,” which Cheap Trick had covered in 1979.
The evening also featured a tribute to the late Eagle Glenn Frey: Sheryl Crow and Grace Potter teamed up to sing “New Kid in Town.” And a Bowie tribute was the show opener: David Byrne, Kimbra and The Roots all performed Bowie’s “Fame.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will air April 30 on HBO.
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