THE 2004 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME CEREMONY

Last night, the 2004 class of Rock And Roll Hall Of
Famers was inducted in a ceremony held in New York.
Outkast and Alicia Keys inducted Prince, Bruce
Springsteen inducted Jackson Browne, Kid Rock inducted
Bob Seger, filmmaker Robert Townsend inducted The
Dells, Mick Jagger inducted Rolling Stone magazine's
Jann Wenner, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne inducted George
Harrison and Keith Richards inducted ZZ Top. Here's
what happened:

·       Prince, decked out in an off-white suit and
black shirt, was the first performer of the night, and
he played: "Let's Go Crazy," "Sing O' The Times" and
"Kiss." He played his guitar in a manner befitting his
new status as a Rock And Roll Hall of Famer. He even
channeled Jimi Hendrix in his between-song solo.
Prince also changed a line from "Kiss" to reflect the
new era: "You don't have to watch Sex In The City/To
have an attitude." He got the night's first standing
ovation.

·       Alicia Keys and Outkast inducted Prince Rogers
Nelson. Both members of Outkast - Andre 3000 and Big
Boi -- mentioned how young they were when they first
heard Prince, and Boi remarked how he thought when he
was a kid - "Man, he's sayin' the F-word in a song!" 

·       Alicia Keys said, "there are many kings...but
there is only one Prince." She gave a remarkable
speech, and said: "Because of him, I've never wanted
to be anything but myself." 

·       After a long standing ovation, Prince gave his
acceptance speech, in it, he praised freedom, used
cautiously, in his life as a musician. He then said:
"A word to the young guys: a real friend and mentor is
not on your payroll. A real friend and mentor cares
for your soul as much as they care for their own. I
wish you all the best on this fascinating journey. It
ain't over. Peace." 

·       When he inducted Traffic, Dave Matthews told a
story of when he first heard the band a little kid in
South Africa. He said: "I'd been drinking...other
things had been involved...smoke had been involved,
and other things had been involved. Needless to say, I
wasn't in great condition - not that I recommend this,
but it's just how it was. I was afraid. I thought I
was going to hell - that I was actually en route to
hell at that very point. Like a friend in a crowded
room in of scary strangers, I heard Traffic." And
after that, all was good for Dave on that night.

·       Jim Capaldi of Traffic was the first to accept
Traffic's induction. Among his thank yous was: "my
parents, for allowing me to exist."  He then added
that George Harrison would've said: "You existed long
before that, Jim." 

·       Dave Mason of Traffic said: "We never thought
we'd still be making music at this age, but rock and
roll is not an age, it's an attitude." 

·       Steve Winwood kept it pretty short and sweet,
saying: "It's a fantastic honor...thank you for
recognizing the spirit." 

·       Traffic performed just one song: "Dear Mr.
Fantasy," (also popular in Grateful Dead sets),
featuring a rather searing guitar solo by Mr. Steve
Winwood. 

·       In a video segment about non-performer
inductee, Rolling Stone magazine's Jann Wenner, Keith
Richards said, "apart from stealing the name, he's
pretty great." 

·       Ahmet Ertegun commended the Rolling Stone
editor, publisher and founder for embodying "fearless
journalism." Then he introduced Mick Jagger, who would
do the inducting. 

·       Mick Jagger commended Jann for being a
passionate fan of music. Prior to Rolling Stone, Mick
said, rock musicians were treated like third-class
citizens without a brain. He made a sly reference to
Jann's sexual orientation, saying that he was "at the
forefront of the sexual revolution." He also made a
sly dig at Wenner Media's other, tabloid-esque
publication, Us Weekly, by saying Rolling Stone is a
shining beacon amid other magazines "...like Star,
National Enquirer...and Us Weekly."

·       Jann Wenner's acceptance speech was a long
one. Among those he mentioned were The Beatles,
writers Hunter S. Thompson (who he called my "My Keith
Richards.") and Tom Wolfe, Cameron Crowe ("who was the
only person younger than me" and called Crowe's movie,
Almost Famous "one of the greatest love letters
written to rock and roll, and he made us all very
proud"), his partner of 10 years, Matt ("I'm so glad
you found me."); and Yoko Ono (who is the godfather to
one of his sons, and he is to one of hers, too). The
speech went on longer than any of the others, and Mick
Jagger sat patiently by through it all. Jann bowed to
"Sir Mick Jagger," and Mick offered him his hand to
kiss it. 

·       Bruce Springsteen inducted Jackson Browne. He
said, being competitive, the first times he saw Browne
play, he noticed: "Jackson didn't have much of a
show." He also noticed: "Jackson drew an amazing
amount of good looking women." Springsteen said: "What
most people don't realize is that Jackson Browne was a
bona fide rock and roll sex star." Bruce also lamented
that, despite all his hard work with the E Street Band
at the time, "due to what must've been some strong
homoerotic undercurrent, we were drawing rooms full of
men." He added: "Jackson was drawing more women than
an Indigo Girls show." And finally: "I know The Eagles
got in first, but let's face it - and I think Don
Henley would agree with me - these are the songs they
wish they'd written." 

·       For Jackson Browne's acceptance, he said:
"It's difficult to add to that." He then thanked his
mother and father for bringing him up in a home filled
with music and books. Also thanked fellow musicians
Lowell George, Warren Zevon and J.D. Souther, David
Crosby "who agreed to sing on my first record, and
Graham Nash, who joined him." He also thanked the DJs
who "played what they wanted to play, and played me."
He quoted John Lennon, saying "War is over, if you
want it."  And added a quote that he borrowed from
Little Steven, but is frequently attributed to him:
"what is more personal than your politics."

·       Browne then went on to perform "The
Pretender," and then added a few thank-yous he forgot
to mention in his speech - his manager, his band and
Buddha. He then played "Running On Empty." 

·       Filmmaker Robert Townshend inducted The Dells
and said they inspired his movie The Five Heartbeats. 
·       The Dells, in their acceptance speech, said:
"All our family is here tonight. Next to God, this is
the most important thing to us." It took us about 10
years... "We wanna thank for all of the guys who voted
for us. And all y'all who didn't." 

·       Kid Rock inducted Bob Seger, but before he
did, he said: "I'm kind of freaked out...Bruce
Springsteen talking about Jackson Browne and all the
hot chicks there -- my mom used to go to those shows."
Onto the induction, Rock referred to Seger as, "Until
tonight, The most underrated and overlooked singer and
songwriter of our time, Bob Seger." He went on: "Let
us let the example of Bob Seger remind us ...that
nothing is bigger than the music. I've never seen him
on T-V crying about his ups and downs or the awards he
hasn't won - he lets the music speak for itself." 
Rock closed by introducing Seger as: "In my book,
pardon my French, the baddest motherf***er of all
time." 

·       Seger started off thanking Kid Rock by his
real name, which is also Bob. He also thanked "the
great Silver Bullet Band," and "for the last 10 years,
the best part of my life, I gotta thank my wife." Of
course, he couldn't forget us: Seger also thanked rock
radio for the continuing push. 

·       Bob Seger then took the stage and sat down at
the keyboard to perform "Turn The Page," as well as
"Old Time Rock 'N Roll." Mark Farner of Grand Funk
Railroad backed Seger on guitar. 

·       Keith Richards inducted ZZ Top. Keith started
out: "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, right? We're talking
about consistence and longevity - believe me, I know
about it. Which means, who can do it good longest -
and we all know about that, right ladies?" He
continued describing ZZ Top by saying: "They're
steeped in the blues. So am I." Then he added: "I'm
steeped in several other things as well." 

·       ZZ Topper Billy Gibbons said: "after spending
35 years together; we still dig doing it."  And then:
"We're not going to go too long: We grew up with AM
Radio; you had to do it in 2 minutes." And he kept his
promise.

·       Dusty Hill  thanked "any record company that
had the tenacity to sign us." 
·       Frank Beard kept it simple, saying: "Most of
my life has been a pleasant surprise, and so's this.
Thank you." 
·       ZZ Top performed "La Grange," and "Tush." 
·       George Harrison's fellow Traveling Wilburys,
Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, inducted him. Tom Petty
quoted Harrison, who once said: "Being in The Beatles
hasn't been a hindrance to my solo career." He added:
"George was a man who really lived every minute of his
life; he was never preachy, he lead by example." And:
"Years before Live Aid, George invented the idea of
rock and roll giving back to the people."

·       Jeff Lynne said: "Knowing George as well as I
did, he's probably saying 'get on with it,' So I'll
just say, 'Well done my friend, you're in the Hall of
Fame where you belong, and it's about time.' 

·       Dhani Harrison, accepting on his dad's behalf,
thanked "all of his mates...and for the Hall Of Fame
for having him in again. Good on ya, cheers." Dhani's
mom, George's wife, Olivia, quoted an Indian poet:
"blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his
truths." And said: "There is a lot of people he'd
probably like to thank... but I'm going to mention
one...the mysterious Neil Aspinall.'

·       In a tribute to George Harrison, Tom Petty,
Jeff Lynne and Dhani Harrison played the Traveling
Wilburys song, "Handle Me With Care." They were joined
by Prince for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." Prince
adeptly handled the solo in the song. He was a
modern-day Jimi Hendrix, complete with guitar-toss
into the audience. 

·       First up in the big finale, just about
everyone came out for Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Rock
'N Roller." On stage at one time were: Billy Gibbons
and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, Keith Richards, Kid Rock,
Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Jeff Lynne, Steve Winwood,
and music director Paul Shaffer. 

·       Then the whole lot of them played Traffic's
song, "Feelin' Alright," with Dave Mason taking the
lead, and The Dells on backing vocals. 



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