Trevor Rabin makes SA musical history

TREVOR RABIN is the first South African to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Rabin is the former singer and lead guitarist of South African 1970s group Rabbitt who wrote himself into music history with the song Owner of a Lonely Heart with UK rock group, Yes.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees were announced this week with a line-up of music legends including Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Journey, Tupac Shakur, Pearl Jam and Joan Baez.

After the announcement this week, Rabin told Rolling Stones magazine he was “feel- ing great” on hearing the news.

“It’s funny. It’s been two nominations before and it didn’t happen, so it was actually a surprise when it did. I thought there were no guarantees. It felt good waking up this morning to this.”

Rabin first hit the music scene with band members Duncan Faure, Ronnie Robot and Neil Cloud when they formed Rabbitt in 1972. They had a local hit with their single Charlie in 1976.

Two years later, he quit the band and went to London as a solo artist. He later joined rock group Yes.

Owner of a Lonely Heart followed, with Rabin staying with the group for 10 years before moving to the US and becoming a highly successful composer in Hollywood.

He has created more than 50 movie scores, including for a number of box office hits such as Armageddon, Bad Boys II, Get Smart, Con Air and Gone in 60 Seconds. He has also worked with music legends including Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan and Tina Turner, while his score for Remember The Titans was played after Barack Obama’s presidential acceptance speech.

This year has also seen Rabin making a U-turn in his career and teaming up with former Yes band members Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson and touring the US.

Wakeman worked with legends in the music industry including David Bowie and Elton John.

The 2017 induction will take place at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 32nd Annual Ceremony on April 7 in New York.

Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record.

Trevor Rabin