San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Houston, Bolan, Smalls are inducted into Rock Hall
NEW YORK — Years after their deaths, Whitney Houston, the Notorious B.I.G. and T. Rex’s Marc Bolan were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Joining them as part of the hall’s 2020 class are Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode and the Doobie Brothers. Houston, T. Rex, B.I.G. and the Doobie Brothers were inducted after being on the ballot for the first time.
The Rock Hall’s annual induction ceremony was originally supposed to take place in May at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, the city where the rock museum is located, but things changed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, HBO aired a taped special at 7 p.m. Saturday, with big names like Bruce Springsteen, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Alicia Keys making appearances alongside some of the inductees.
Houston, who died in 2012, released her debut album in 1985 and became one of the greatest singers inmusic history. B.I.G. only released two albums but made a major impact on both the rap and popmusic scenes. He died in 1997 at age 24.
The death of Bolan in 1977 ended British band T. Rex, known primarily for its 1970s hit “Bang a Gong (Get it On)” and, to a lesser extent, “Jeepster.”
Artists become eligible for induction to the Rock Hall 25 years after the release of their first record.
Depeche Mode remains active, but its biggest influence came in the 1980s when its post-punk, music made the Brits a favorite of the goth subculture. With songs like “Closer,” Nine Inch Nails was a leader of the industrial rock movement in the 1990s. And the Doobie Brothers weren’t critical favorites, but they had some indelible rock hits in the 1970s, including “Listen to the Music,” “Black Water” and “China Grove.” This year they are celebrating their 50th anniversary.
Others who made appearances during the TV special included Dave Grohl, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson, Gwen Stefani, Charlize Theron, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Adam Levine and Brad Paisley. During the event, music managers Irving Azoff and Jon Landau were honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.