Guns N’ Roses, Chili Peppers Bring Magic to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction

Many non-performers were honored during the ceremony. Carole King inducted Don Kirshner, who was her boss and mentor during her days as a Brill Building songwriter in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Darlene Love honored the late record executive with an extremely powerful version of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow,” which she sang with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra. Later in the evening, Robbie Robertson presented the Award For Musical Excellence to Cosimo Matassa, Glyn Jones and Tom Dowd. 

In the middle of the evening, the Hall of Fame made up for some past oversights by having Smokey Robinson induct the Blue Caps (who backed Gene Vincent), the Comets (Bill Haley), the Crickets (Buddy Holly), the Famous Flames (James Brown), the Midnighters (Hank Ballard) and the Miracles, who backed Robinson for the first two decades of his career. The surviving members of all six groups took the stage together, and it was very moving to see these largely overlooked musicians finally getting the credit they deserved for their huge role in rock history. 

Public Enemy frontman Chuck D and LL Cool J teamed up to induct the Beastie Boys. “They still are one of the greatest live acts in music,” said Chuck D. “They challenged the conventions in the music business and made up their own rules about what it means to be world class hip-hop cats”¦They always insisted (on) maturing as musicians and human beings.” LL Cool J said that he owes his entire career to the Beasties. “I wouldn’t be here today without them,” he said. “The Beastie Boys actually played my demo for Rick Rubin in his NYU dorm room. A lot of people don’t know that.”

Adam Horowitz read the audience a letter from Yauch. “I’d like to dedicate this to my brothers Adam and Mike,” he wrote. “They walked the globe with me. It’s also for anyone who has ever been touched by our band. This induction is as much ours as it is yours.”

Green Day initially seemed like a slightly odd choice to induct Guns N’ Roses, but Billie Joe Armstong spoke extremely eloquently about group. “Appetite For Destruction is the greatest debut album of all time,” he said. “Every song hits hard on all emotion levels and takes you on a journey through the seedy underworld of Los Angeles in brutal sequence”¦The thing that set them apart from everybody else was guts, heart and soul. Most important, they told the truth.” 

Not a single member of Guns N’ Roses mentioned Axl Rose by name in their speech. Matt Sorum gently teased Steven Adler for somehow managing to get fired from Guns N’ Roses for a drug addiction, and Adler gave a surprisingly brief speech that culminated with him quoting “We Are the Champions” by Queen. Slash admitted that all the drama building up to the ceremony almost caused him to bail, but his wife ultimately talked him into attending. Keyboardist Dizzy Reed and guitarist Izzy Stradlin opted not to come.

It was about 12:30 a.m. when Chris Rock stepped up to the podium to induct the Red Hot Chili Peppers. “A lot of people are upset that Axl didn’t come tonight,” he said. “But let’s face it. Even if he was coming tonight, he wouldn’t be here by now. Where the fuck is Axl?” He went on to explain that he first saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers when he tried to see Grandmaster Flash in Philadelphia, but walked into the wrong club. “My friends and I were like, ‘What the fuck is this shit? There’s a lot of white people in here,'” Rock said. “They came out and I couldn’t understand a fucking word they said, and they had socks on their dicks! I had never been to a white show before, so I thought all white groups put socks on their dicks. Years later, they’re one of the biggest groups in the world and getting inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They have black ties on their dicks tonight.”

John Frusciante may have stayed home, but former drummers Jack Irons and Cliff Martinez were in the house. At 1:00 a.m., the group (with three drummers) did a three-song set of “By the Way,” “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” and “Give It Away.” “I haven’t played with Cliff in 25 years!” Flea said to the crowd. “He’s a beautiful man.” 

At the end of “Give It Away,” Anthony Kiedis invited everyone back to the stage. Slash, Ron Wood, Billie Joe Armstrong, Kenny Jones and even audience member George Clinton crammed onstage for a euphoric finale of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground.” In typical Hall of Fame fashion, the jam was completely chaotic, but everyone in the house seemed to be having a great time. The five-and-a-half hour show wrapped up at 1:30 a.m., and as the crowd poured onto the Cleveland streets in search of their cars or an after party, not a single person was talking about Axl Rose. It turns out they didn’t even need him.