Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Tonight and Friday, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Simon & Garfunkel, Metallica and other acts that started their careers in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s will perform at Madison Square Garden here to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The landmark events, which are expected to run 4 1/2 hours each and will air on HBO on Nov. 29, come at a tricky time for rock and for the rock hall itself. These days, Guitar Hero is a video game, Rockstar is an energy drink and ring tones routinely outsell albums.

Thank goodness the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters relented and allowed Iggy Pop and the Stooges into the club. Without the proto-punk rockers on hand, Monday night's awards dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City would have been a pretty tame affair. This year's class of performer inductees, also including ABBA, the Hollies, Genesis and Jimmy Cliff, proved an exceedingly earnest and genuinely appreciative bunch. And then there was Iggy: "This thing is . . . heavy," Pop said, hefting the statue he'd just been handed, then flipping two middle fingers to the crowd of designer-suited men and cocktail-dressed women looking on. "Well, roll over, Woodstock!"

On a night when pop-music recluses Michael Jackson and the artist formerly known as Prince did step out in public, the 12th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner was caught off guard by a surprise no-show. Neil Young was scheduled to be inducted into the hall Tuesday night as a member of the Buffalo Springfield, the influential Los Angeles rock group of the late '60s. Instead, Young, who was inducted in the hall in 1995 as a solo artist, boycotted the event.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame sits on the shore of Lake Erie in Cleveland, but if you wanted to see the music legends it celebrates, the best place to be this week was Seventh Avenue in rainy Manhattan. Even in this era of nonstop all-star benefits and award shows, it was a bit stunning to see the rock royalty that walked on stage at Madison Square Garden for two concerts honoring the silver anniversary of the museum in the distant Midwest. The rhythm of the event went something like this: An iconic music act would step to the microphone and bring the crowd to its feet with a single line from its signature songbooks.

"What about me someday?" That's a question hundreds of musicians will ask themselves as Dion DiMucci, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, the Temptations and Stevie Wonder are inducted during the fourth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies Wednesday night in New York. The contributions of those artists have been well documented over the last three decades (see Don Waller's article, next page).

Hall of Fame: Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 15 in the hall's non-performer category.

Former Beatle George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp and Jackson Browne are among the nominees on the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot. Harrison, who died of cancer in 2001, is already in the rock hall as a member of the Beatles. Former bandmates John Lennon and Paul McCartney preceded him for their solo work. Previous nominees back for another try include the Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Gram Parsons and Patti Smith.

The Eagles will be part of a strong California contingent of artists who'll be inducted tonight during the 13th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. The others: Fleetwood Mac, the Mamas & the Papas and Santana. Also scheduled to be inducted: R&B singer Lloyd Price and rock pioneer Gene Vincent.

Nursing a broken foot, Michael Jackson, above, was the only inductee who declined to perform at Monday's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony in New York City. Being honored as a solo act, Jackson came onstage with the aid of a cane to say a few words of thanks. Among the other honorees were R&B great Solomon Burke, top right, and the late rock 'n' roll icon Ritchie Valens, who was inducted by Ricky Martin, far right, and represented by members of his family.

Run-DMC, Metallica and Jeff Beck are among the artists who will be inducted into Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Run-DMC is only the second rap act so honored, following the induction of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2007. Meanwhile, this marks the second time famed guitarist Beck will be recognized, as he was honored as a member of English rockers the Yardbirds in 1992. Other inductees announced Wednesday were soul singer Bobby Womack and the R&B group Little Anthony & the Imperials.

Tonight and Friday, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Simon & Garfunkel, Metallica and other acts that started their careers in the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s will perform at Madison Square Garden here to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The landmark events, which are expected to run 4 1/2 hours each and will air on HBO on Nov. 29, come at a tricky time for rock and for the rock hall itself. These days, Guitar Hero is a video game, Rockstar is an energy drink and ring tones routinely outsell albums.

Run-DMC, Metallica and Jeff Beck are among the artists who will be inducted into Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Run-DMC is only the second rap act so honored, following the induction of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2007. Meanwhile, this marks the second time famed guitarist Beck will be recognized, as he was honored as a member of English rockers the Yardbirds in 1992. Other inductees announced Wednesday were soul singer Bobby Womack and the R&B group Little Anthony & the Imperials.

Metallica and Run-DMC top the list of nominees for induction next year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The others on the short list for induction include Jeff Beck, the Stooges, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Wanda Jackson, Chic, Bobby Womack and War. The Rock Hall is dealing with the relative dearth of worthy acts newly eligible for membership by leaning heavily on acts previously passed over for membership. Metallica and Run-DMC are the only '80s-vintage nominees being drafted to the institution, which requires 25 years to have passed since performers released their first recordings.

Philly soul producer Kenny Gamble, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with partner Leon Huff, invited the audience to answer back his wish for "peace." "Thank you so much, because that's exactly what our music represented," Gamble told people gathered at New York's Waldorf-Astoria for the annual ceremony. Madonna, pop music's quick-change artist, was among the other inductees with heartland hit-maker John Mellencamp, songwriter Leonard Cohen, British rockers the Dave Clark Five and surf instrumentalists the Ventures.

The naming of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees always causes a flurry of outcries: the list is "not rock enough"; Kiss or Poco or Connie Francis should have been in there; the induction ceremony should be in Cleveland, not New York; and who cares what Rolling Stone honcho Jann Wenner and his cronies think anyway? All of that's been expressed in the commentary over Thursday's announcement of the hall's 2008 class.

Is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ready for Madonna and the Beastie Boys? The Material Girl of pop and the clown princes of New York hip-hop are the biggest names on the final ballot for hall membership, along with Hoosier hero John Mellencamp, who is a more straightforward option for an institution that is increasingly finding that its definition of "rock" is being tested.

"So you better get ready," shouts the theme to the Monkees' 1960s TV series, "we may be comin' to your town!" Unless, of course, your town is Cleveland. Peter Tork says the Monkees merit consideration for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but one man opposes their induction. "The only person ... holding a grudge is Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone," says the former Monkee. The magazine editor "has never written a gracious word. He personally has the veto power to keep us out."

THE conflicts involved in any long life lived by the artist's code were reflected in many discomfiting moments at this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. But the stubborn exuberance of rock's rebel establishment -- a quality that inductee Patti Smith succinctly described as "joy" -- washed over the mournfulness and made everything beautiful, in patches.