The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame held its first induction ceremony in Los Angeles in over 20 years late last week. Held at LA’s Nokia Theater on April 18th, the ceremony was an evening of live performances and celebrations designed to honour the latest inductees into the hallowed list for 2013. But there was name that clearly took precedence of all others.
Fans of Candian prog power trio Rush were out in force at the Hall Of Fame induction, out in droves to see the Toronto cult rock band finally receive the recognition they so long deserved after being snubbed by organisers for so long.
As Billboard reports, it was the trio’s famously devoted fans that made up the bulk of the audience, who reportedly booed Hall Of Fame chairman Jann Wenner, heckled 2013 inductees Public Enemy and Quincy Jones during their respective speeches, but also completely lost their collective minds when it came time for Rush’s induction.
Doing the honours was none other than Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters, who introduced the band in a humorous turn that paid tribute to the band both visually and aurally.
Dressed in the same white kimonos, platform shoes, and wigs of Rush’s vintage 70s days, Grohl and Hawkins performed the overture to the band’s influential 1976 concept album 2112. “It’s terrifying to play your favorite band’s song in front of your favorite band… in a fucking kimono and a wig!” – Dave Grohl
Grohl then introduced the band – Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart, “the most ripping drummer in the world;” adding they had a “fan base rivalled only by The Grateful Dead.”
Punctuated by roars of applause, Lee, Lifeson, and Peart humbly accepted their induction, with the virtuoso drummer beginning by saying: “We’ve been saying for a long time this isn’t a big deal. Turns out it is.” He also noted the importance that “we receive this… as a working band – on tour in our 39th Year.”
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Guitarist Alex Lifeson kept things simpler, acting out the band’s career in a kind of charades while simply saying “blah, blah, blah” (in a performance that’s bound to go viral).
His humorous acceptance (non) speech, follows comments he made following Rush’s name being included in the list of initial 2013 Hall Of Fame nominees last October, alongside fellow famously-snubbed rock legends Deep Purple.
“I never really cared if it happened or not, to be honest with you,” Lifeson said at the time. “It doesn’t change anybody’s life at the end of the day. Are we going to become more popular? Are we going to sell more records? Are more people going to come to the shows? I don’t know. We’re quite happy where we are and with what we’ve accomplished.”
“I think at the end of the day, really, what this is about is making our fans feel like their support has been worthy,” he said at the time.
One such fan who felt particularly chuffed at the band’s induction was Dave Grohl himself, who spoke to Rolling Stone about the ceremony, which also saw him jamming with his heroes. “It’s terrifying to play your favorite band’s song in front of your favorite band,” he said. “It’s one thing to sit in the basement and woodshed 2112, and its another to stand in front of Rush in a fucking kimono and a wig and try to use a wah-wah pedal in your platform shoes.”
Regardless Grohl called the moment “amazing… one of the most special nights of my life,” before paying tribute again to the Toronto trio’s virtuoso drummer, their kindness, and their legacy:
When I got 2112 when I was eight years old; it fucking changed the direction of my life. I heard the drums. It made me want to become a drummer. At rehearsals the other day, I had never met Neil Peart before. Alex [Lifeson] and Geddy [Lee] are the nicest people in the world. I was coming to rehearsal and I was meeting Neil for the first time, and this man was as influential as any religion or any hero or any person in someone’s life. He said, “So nice to meet you. Can I make you a coffee?” And he made me a coffee, man. And later on that night, I went to dinner and had a couple glasses of wine and I started fucking crying because my hero made me a fucking coffee. It was unbelievable, man. So that’s kind of how this whole experience has been.
The Cleveland, Ohio institution’s 2013 Hall Of Fame induction ceremony also placed American singer-songwriter Randy Newman as well as hip hop icons Public Enemy; both performed a selection of their most famous songs at the ceremony. There was also the posthumous inclusion of blues luminary Albert King and the fallen queen of disco, Donna Summer, who passed away in May at the age of 63, whose families graciously accepted their awards at the ceremony.
Producers Lou Adler and Quincy Jones were each honoured the Ahmet Ertegun (non performer) Award. Adler was welcomed to the stage by his peers – including Herb Alpert, Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, and Jack Nicholson, while Jones was heralded to the podium by Oprah Winfrey. The jazz musician and record producer paid tribute to Charlie Parker, Clark Terry, and Lionel Hampton – “those cats were my Beatles and Rolling Stones.”
Rush and Foo Fighters also returned to the stage for an all-star finale of Albert King’s ‘Crossroads’, alongside Ann and Nancy Wilson of fellow inductees Heart, Chuck D, John Fogerty, Hank Shocklee, and Tom Morello in what Grohl “like a musical Hollywood Squares. It was too weird.”
You can view the full list of performances and inductees (via Billboard) as well as Rush’s acceptance speech below
Randy Newman
“I Love LA” – Newman, Tom Petty, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne
“I Think It;s Going to Rain Today” – Newman
“I’m Dead (But I Don’t Know It)” – Newman, Don Henley
Lou Adler
“So Far Away” – Carole King
Albert King
“Oh Pretty Woman” – Gary Clark Jr.
“Born Under a Bad Sign, Clark, John Mayer, Booker T.
Donna Summer
“Bad Girls”/”Last Dance” – Jennifer Hudson
Quincy Jones
“Rock With You” – Usher
Public Enemy
“Bring the Noise”
Freestyle jam with other nominees’ records
“Fight the Power”
Heart
“Crazy on You”
“Dreamboat Annie”
“Barracuda” – Heart with Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell
Rush
“2112” – with Foo Fighters
“Tom Sawyer”
“Spirit Of The Radio”
Finale
“Crossroads” – Chuck D, Hank Shocklee, Rush, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Clark, Grohl, Hawkins, Fogerty, Tom Morello
