Flamboyant rockers KISS, singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, grunge band Nirvana and chart-toppers Hall and Oates entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday but the original KISS quartet did not perform.
Also inducted were country rock star Linda Ronstadt, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and did not attend, and Cat Stevens, the British musician known as Yusuf Islam after converting to Islam and shunning the stage for decades.
The E Street Band, the group behind Bruce Springsteen, was inducted by the rocker through the Award for Musical Excellence.
Two prominent band managers – Brian Epstein for The Beatles until his death in 1967 and the Rolling Stones’ Andrew Loog Oldham – rounded out the 2014 roster, each receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Awards for lifetime achievement.
The annual ceremony, to be aired May 31 on HBO, is centered on live performances but the 1970s shock-rockers KISS, known for their outrageous costumes and makeup and hits such as “Rock and Roll All Nite”, stayed true to their vow not to perform.
The four inductees did not all comment on the Hall of Fame’s decision to honor only the band’s original line-up, leaving out current band members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer.
Founding member Gene Simmons said “We are humbled to stand up on this stage” after induction by guitarist Tom Morello, but did mention by name other KISS members who were not honored.
Paul Stanley, who has also been critical of the Hall’s induction process, said “for our fans, this is vindication,” echoing Morello’s remark that “KISS was never a critics’ band, KISS was a people’s band.”
Morello also observed that the over-the-top theatrical band was noteworthy for influencing acts ranging from Lady Gaga to Garth Brooks and Slipknot.
Gabriel, lead vocalist for the progressive rock band Genesis who later had solo hits such as “Sledgehammer,” was inducted by Chris Martin and sang “Digging in the Dirt” with him, followed by his hit “In Your Eyes,” from the 1980s youth romance “Say Anything”.
He paid tribute to the power of music, which he said “can make you feel so alive … and think that the world would, could and should be a much better place – and occasionally make you very, very happy.”
While Ronstadt was absent, a roster of top female stars paid musical tribute to her oeuvre with Carrie Underwood, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Stevie Nicks bringing the audience at a Brooklyn arena to its feet with rousing renditions of “You’re No Good,” “Different Drum” and “When Will I Be Loved”.
Nicks said when she saw Ronstadt perform, she was inspired to become a singer, thinking “That’s what I’m gonna do. She was the heart of the matter, she really was.” (Reuters)
