Stars Honored At Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony At Barclays Center
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Brooklyn's Barclays Center rocked and rolled all night Thursday for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
KISS finally made the list after decades as one of the greatest live acts ever.
The band members took the stage for their induction without their signature makeup on, CBS 2's Dave Carlin reported. They also did not perform on their big night.
Singer/guitarist Paul Stanley told WLNY TV 10/55 that the honor was long overdue.
"The validation has come over 40 years and a hundred million albums, and more platinum albums than I can count, so as far as I'm concerned the people have put us in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for decades," Stanley said Wednesday on The Couch.
The organization decided to only induct the original band members -- Stanley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Stanley and Simmons were upset members who joined later were excluded.
``This is a pivotal moment for all of us,'' said Simmons, the bass player and reality TV star. We are humbled that that the fans gave us the chance to do what we loved doing.''
The theatrical quartet put on makeup, belched blood, shot fireworks out of Frehley's guitar and sang about wanting to ``Rock and Roll All Nite.'' They weren't trendy, but Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello said that Kiss inspired him and their concert was the first he attended. He even fought high school bullies who ridiculed him for liking Kiss.
``Tonight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the high school bullies and critics were wrong,'' he said. ``Kiss fans were right.''
Photos: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction
Rocker Bruce Springsteen was on hand to induct his famed E Street Band to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and the crowd went wild at their performance.
Springsteen's 1999 entrance into the Rock Hall without the E Street Band was a sore point for some of its members. Thursday they got their due in the sidemen category, although it was a posthumous honor for saxman Clarence Clemons and keyboard player Danny Federici.
Springsteen told stories, many familiar to fans who have seen them onstage, of the formation of the band, which includes his wife, Patti Scialfa. David Sancious, who was with the band only briefly, was the only one to ever live on E Street, he said.
``We suffered aging, illness and death together,'' Springsteen said. ``We took care of each other when trouble knocked, and we hurt each other in big and small ways. In the end we stuck with each other.''
After 20 years of being passed over by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the great Linda Ronstadt was finally inducted. She did not attend because she suffers from Parkinson's disease and doesn't travel much.
Glenn Frey, who played with fellow future Eagle Don Henley in Ronstadt's backup band, saluted her with an induction speech.
``From that first rehearsal, I felt we were working on a style of music that had never been heard before,'' Frey said.
Ronstadt was saluted by some royalty of female country rock. Carrie Underwood sang ``Different Drum,'' Ronstadt's first hit with the Stone Poneys. Underwood was joined by Emmylou Harris and Bonnie Raitt for ``Blue Bayou.'' Sheryl Crow and Frey made it a quintet to sing ``You're No Good.'' Then Stevie Nicks came out to lead them in ``It's So Easy'' and ``When Will I Be Loved.''
Nicks said hearing ``Different Drum'' when she was in high school made her want to get into music.
``I didn't look that good in cutoffs, but that's what I was going to do,'' she said.
Grunge gods Nirvana, one of the most influential bands of the 90s, were inducted amidst rumors Joan Jett might be performing for the late Kurt Cobain with the surviving members of the band, Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic.
Afterward, Jett made good on those rumors, performing a rousing rendition of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" with the group.
`Nirvana fans walk up to me every day and say thank you for the music,'' said Novoselic, the band's bass player. ``When I hear that, I think of Kurt Cobain.''
Cobain's widow, Courtney Love, hugged the two surviving band members, with whom she's had some bad blood.
``I just wish Kurt was here to do this,'' she said.
Former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe traced Nirvana's origins through the hardcore punk scene of the 1980s and said they were a voice for the disaffected. He said they were true artists, not just musicians.
``This is not pop music,'' Stipe said. ``This is something much greater than that.''
Other inductees include Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates and Yusuf Islam – formerly known as Cat Stevens.
Islam, the 1970s era singer of ``Morning Has Broken'' and ``Wild World,'' was inducted by Art Garfunkel, who said his breakup with Paul Simon helped pave the way for Stevens' entry into the charts.
``Thanks so much to my fans for believing,'' Islam said. ``I can still see some skeptical faces, but my fans believed.''
Stevens performed ``Father and Son,'' ``Wild World'' and ``Peace Train,'' joined by a robed choir in the final song.
Gabriel was inducted by Coldplay's Chris Martin, who later sang with him on Gabriel's ``Washing of the Water.''
Martin said he turned to the Bible for inspiration in his speech, ``the book of Genesis,'' referring to the band with which Gabriel started and with which he was inducted into the Hall in 2010.
``An angel of the Lord descended and appeared to Phil the Collins,'' Martin said, telling Genesis' drummer that Gabriel was starting a solo career.
He credited Gabriel with creating a cathedral of sound and ``he helped John Cusack get back his girlfriend in the movie `Say Anything.''' That movie's climactic moment featured Gabriel's song ``In Your Eyes,'' and Gabriel performed a soaring version to celebrate his induction.
Gabriel said aspiring musicians should surround themselves with brilliance and, noting his early failures as a drummer, shouldn't be afraid to try different things.
``Dream big, and let your imagination guide you, even if you end up dressing as a flower or a sexually transmitted disease,'' said Gabriel, known for his theatrical outfits during early Genesis days.
The Philadelphia-bred duo of Daryl Hall and John Oates is known for a string of blue-eyed soul hits including ``Sara Smile,'' ``Rich Girl,'' ``Private Eyes'' and ``Maneater.'' Another Philly musician, Questlove of the Roots, was to offer the induction speech.
The first two artist managers were inducted into the Hall: the late Brian Epstein, of the Beatles, and Andrew Loog Oldham, of the Rolling Stones.
The 29th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air on HBO on May 31.
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