Salt-N-Pepa, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper, White Stripes being inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Salt-N-Pepa donned the multi-colored leather jackets from their “Push It” video and got the crowd at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on their feet with a wild rendition of their breakthrough 1987 hit.

“This is for every woman who has picked up a mic when she was told she couldn’t,” Cheryl “Salt” James said Saturday while accepting the musical influencer award that made her, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella members of the room.

In a rousing speech at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, James discussed their fight to get their master recordings back from Universal Music Group.

“The industry still doesn’t want to play fair, Salt-N-Pepa has never been afraid of a fight,” James said.

They took the stage for a medley of their hits. They opened with “Shoop” then slipped into “Let’s Talk About Sex” before En Vogue joined them for their joint hit “What a Man.” “Push It” pushed the energy even higher.

Spinderella became the first female DJ to enter the venue.

“Female rappers had to step up to the mic and show they could compete with the guys. And Salt, Pepa and Spinderella did that,” Missy Elliott said in inducting the trio.

Chappell Roan was to induct Cyndi Lauper.

Outkast does not perform, but appears together

Outkast didn’t perform together for the first time since 2016 as some had hoped, but the duo stood together on stage, surrounded by a crew of friends and cohorts as they gave speeches of gratitude after playing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would go first.

Andre 3000 gave a long, fun, rambling speech: “I’ll freestyle you!” ” – it ended in tears as he talked about their very beginnings in a basement “dungeon” in Atlanta in the early 1990s.

He choked out the words: “Big things begin in small rooms.” »

Andre didn’t attend the show but Big Boi, dressed in shorts and a fur coat, embarked on an express tour through the Atlanta duo’s discography that included Tyler the Creator, JID and Killer Mike.

Janelle Monáe joined them to dance her way through “Hey Ya” and Doja Cat delivered a sly and moving version of “Ms. Jackson.”

In his induction speech, Donald Glover hailed them as “two visionaries who turned their differences into a dynasty.”

An emotional Jim Carrey remembers Chris Cornell at Soundgarden inauguration

Emotions ran deep during Soundgarden’s segment of the evening, starting with the induction speech from Jim Carrey, the actor and Soundgarden superfan who seemed to hold back tears while speaking about Cornell, who died by suicide in 2017.

“When you look into his eyes, it’s like eternity is looking back at you,” Carrey said. “Forever, his voice will continue to light up the ether like a Tesla coil.”

Each of his bandmates, all major godfathers of the Seattle grunge scene, paid their own tearful tributes.

One of Cornell’s daughters, Lilian, spoke for him while another, Toni, sang a soft rendition of his song “Fell on Black Days.”

“I’m really happy that he was able to make music with his friends,” Lilian Cornell said.

Taylor Momsen, who starred with Carrey as a child in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and Brandi Carlile showed great vocal power with their versions of Cornell’s powerful wail, backed by his bandmates on “Rusty Cage” and “Black Hole Sun.”

Bassist Hiro Yamamoto was among the few to discuss the politics of the moment from the stage.

“Thank you to my parents, whose story is that of American citizens who were arrested and placed in prison camps simply because they were Japanese during World War II,” Yamamoto said to the biggest cheers of the evening. “Well, it greatly affected my life, and it really resonates today. Let’s not add another story like this to our history.”

Meg White absent for White Stripes induction

The White Stripes reunion that some fans were hoping for didn’t happen. Their induction was among the highlights of the evening anyway. Twenty One Pilots brought the house down with a version of the duo’s anthem “Seven Nation Army,” and Olivia Rodrigo and Feist performed an acoustic version of “We’re Gonna Be Friends.”

Fellow Detroit rock legend Iggy Pop began his induction speech by leading the crowd in a chorus of “Seven Nation Army,” then recalled his thoughts on their meeting.

“Cute kids, they’re going to travel,” Pop said. “And they did.”

Drummer Meg White, who has led an almost entirely private life since the band split in 2011, didn’t show up at the ceremony, but Jack White said Meg, his ex-wife, helped him write the speech he gave while wearing the band’s signature red and white.

Jack White praised several great duos from all cultures and said this type of one-on-one collaboration is “the most beautiful thing you can have as an artist and a musician.”

He nearly cried several times as he told Adam and Eve’s story of the “boy and girl” who did magic together, “knowing that they shared and made another person feel something.”

Stevie Wonder pays tribute to Sly Stone

Stevie Wonder paid a funky and flashy tribute fire Sly Stone to open the show streaming live on Disney+, will be available on Hulu on Sunday and will air in an edited version on ABC on January 1.

Wonder was joined Saturday night by Questlove, Leon Thomas, Maxwell, Beck, Flea of ​​the Red Hot Chili Peppers for rousing renditions of Sly and the Family Stone’s hits “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Thank You.” Jennifer Hudson joined them to scream “Higher.”

Stone, who was inducted into the Hall in 1993, died in June. Brian Wilson, who died two days later, will also receive a tribute from Elton John.

Mick Fleetwood opens the ceremony and inducts Bad Company

Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac began the ceremony proper by inducting Bad Company. He called the British group founded by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs in 1973 “legends of classic rock” and “one of the first super groups”, but said that, more importantly, “they were four great musicians who came together for the love of music”.

Rodgers had to skip the ceremony due to health issues and Ralphs died earlier this year, so drummer Simon Kirke was the only member to take the stage.

He was joined by an ad hoc supergroup who played some of the supergroup’s biggest hits.

Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson took lead vocals on their hit “Feel Like Makin’ Love,” with Heart’s Nancy Wilson and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry on guitars. Bryan Adams took the stage to sing “Can’t Get Enough.”

“I’ve never performed in a tuxedo before,” Kirke said in accepting the honor for the band.

He became emotional as he thanked Ralph’s wife, Susie, for taking care of him.

David Letterman inducts the late Warren Zevon

The late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon was inducted by David Letterman, a friend and superfan who made Zevon a regular on his NBC late-night show.

“Warren Zevon is in my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Letterman said. “Actually, its own wing.”

A clip of Zevon’s final appearance on the show in 2002, when he was dying of cancer, was released. “Enjoy every sandwich,” Zevon said when Letterman asked him what he learned about mortality.

Letterman was in tears as he showed the crowd a guitar Zevon had given him later in the evening.

“He will never go away,” Bruce Springsteen said in a recorded tribute. “He has a job as good as anyone’s.”

Letterman described several categories of Zevon’s cleverly emotional tunes, the latest being “songs about werewolves” that had the crowd laughing. 1978’s “Werewolves of London” was Zevon’s biggest and most improbable hit.

The Killers then played Zevon’s second biggest hit, “Lawyers, Guns and Money”.