The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Rock Hall inductions return with positive vibes
Rock Hall’s induction ceremony returns to Cleveland
Hopefully, a night like April 15 in Cleveland doesn’t start to feel less special anytime soon.
“Cleveland! Cleveland! Cleveland!” former Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora exclaimed on stage at the Public Auditorium downtown. “The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!”
You can understand Sambora’s excitement, having just been inducted into the Rock Hall — which, just a few blocks away, was a hosting viewing of the festivities on closed-circuit TV — along with his former band mates by infamous Sirius XM Satellite Radio host Howard Stern.
The induction of the enduring and evolving Jon Bon Jovi-fronted band kicked off what would prove to be another memorable night as Cleveland for the fifth time hosted the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, this one the 33rd overall.
The ceremony first was held in Cleveland in 1997, less than two years after the Rock Hall opened on the shores of Lake Erie. Starting in 2009, Cleveland has hosted the event every three years — artists including Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, the Beastie Boys and Green Day being inducted to the Rock Hall just a short walk from it — but that changes this year. The plan now is for it to be here every other year.
Having it in Northeast Ohio doesn’t feel like old hat just yet.
“Without Cleveland, where the (expletive) is rock ’n’ roll?” “Little Steven” Van Zandt, the E Street Band member former cast member of “The Sopranos,” asked the delighted audience.
He then dropped several key Cleveland-rock names that ranged from Alan Freed to Kid Leo.
Van Zandt introduced a new category honoring iconic songs, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Singles, that in this first year included “Louie Louie” by The Kingsmen and “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf.
After a, well, killer showopening performance of the Tom Petty classic “American Girl” by The Killers — the alt-rock act honoring the late artist with a rendition that folded in another of Petty’s tunes, “Free Fallin’,” on a night that would see Killers frontman Brandon Flowers induct The Cars — Bon Jovi was inducted by Stern. The self-described “King of All Media” earlier this year complained on air about having to travel to Cleveland for the event.
“It’s nice to be here,” he said on the red carpet prior to the event. “It’s very cold.”
(He also had a great joke about the first time he saw hair-rock icon Jon Bon Jovi: “I just thought he was the hottest girl I’d ever seen in my life.”)
On stage, he played nice, at least to the city.
“The man who never leaves home — me, Howard Stern — is in Cleveland!” he exclaimed.
Stern reserved most of his bile for Jann Wenner, cofounder of the Rock Hall and the publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, who, to hear Stern tell it, had great reservations about allowing in the band behind 1980s mega hits including “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
“Jan, you did it — you finally gave this wonderful band its due,” adding that Rolling Stone also was once great. “Now it’s the size of a pamphlet. What a business plan! Way to go!”
After singing waaaay too much of “Wanted” himself, Stern brought up the band. In a speech Jon Bon Jovi said he’d been writing since he was a kid dreaming of a career in rock, the New Jerseyraised musician thanked everyone from the band’s longtime manager to his family to the band’s fans.
“Finally, the end of my speech. I know, I know — it’s about time,” he allowed, but also hit one last time on a recurring theme.
“Time is the most precious commodity we have. I thank my lucky stars for the time I got to spent with each of you,” he said, turning to the old and current Bon Jovi members on stage.
Bon Jovi, with Sambora back on guitar, proceeded to perform “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “It’s My Life,” “When We Were Us” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” the band surprisingly eschewing “Wanted Dead or Alive” and leaving everyone with Stern’s version in their heads.
Much more efficient, if also quite unusual, was the induction of British rock act Dire Straits, it of “Sultans of Swing,” “Money for Nothing” and “Romeo and Juliet” fame. With frontman Mark Knopfler staying away for reasons that remained unclear this night, the band was represented by three members. Oddly, it was inducted by one of them, bassist John Illsley, who minutes later returned to the mic to give what amounted to an acceptance speech.
The Cleveland-love vibes were strong during the induction of The Cars, which followed a compelling speech by Flowers. Members of the Ric Ocasek-led new-wave act, which later performed “My Best Friend’s Girlfriend,” “You Might Think,” “Moving in Stereo” and “Just What I Needed,” made multiple references to late bassist Benjamin Orr. The musician, who can be heard on lead vocals on the hit song “Drive,” grew up in Lakewood and Parma. He died in 2000.
“He would have been elated to be up here on stage in his hometown,” Ocasek said. “It feels weird to be up here without him. We miss him and love him.”
The night closed with the induction of British progressive-rock act The Moody Blues, which has been around in various forms since the mid-1960s. (Yes, it is hard to believe the group was inducted only this weekend.)
Ann Wilson of Heart inducted the band and spoke about what an incredible influence it was on her early in her life. She emphasized the impact of acclaimed 1967 concept album “Days of Future Passed” on more many acts that would come along and try to make more-complex rock music.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “but from then on, ‘Louie Louie,’ for all its anthemic rawness, wasn’t enough.”
And, sorry, fans of The Moody Blues, the musical high point of the night did not come during the nonetheless lovely show-closing set by the act of “I’m Just a Singer (in a Rock and Roll Band),” “In Your Wildest Dreams,” “Nights in White Satin” and “Ride My See-Saw.”
The contenders for that honor came mid show and all related to artists no longer with us, starting with Brittany Howard — the force-of-nature vocalist who fronts Alabama Shakes — inducting the late Sister Rosetta Tharpe and performing the deceased early guitar pioneer’s “That’s All.”
And following an “In Memoriam” montage that reminded of lost talents including Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip, Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band and, of course, Petty, Wilson took the stage with Jerry Cantrell of grunge-rock act Alice in Chains to honor his late friend Chris Cornell with a moving performance of “Black Hole Sun” by the Cornell-fronted Soundgarden.
However, nothing compared to bring-down-thehouse performances of a selection of inductee Nina Simone’s songs by Audra Day and Lauryn Hill, both backed by The Roots. Two highlights were “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” (Day) and “Feeling Good” (Hill). Seriously, wow. “Nina Simone could sing anything,” said R&B star Mary J. Blige in her induction speech honoring the singer, an activist during the Civil Rights Movement whose musical style borrowed from a range of genres. “She was classically trained, but they called her ‘The High Priestess of Soul.’”
All in all, it was another musically magical night in Cleveland. And this may factor in some regional bias, but because the night honors so many musicians with lasting impacts, it feels more vital — has more resonance — than the obviously higher-profile Grammy Awards, which year after year honor flashes in the pan along with lasting talents.
The 35th Induction Ceremony will be in Cleveland in 2020, but let’s not get used to this, OK?