Rock & Roll Hall of Fame turns up starpower to induct Cher, Ozzy & more

Hollywood stars Julia Roberts and Zendaya bookended Saturday’s inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, giving a little stardust to an eclectic lineup that included pop icon Cher, heavy metal’s Ozzy Osbourne, hip-hop soul queen Mary J. Blige, soft rockers Foreigner and 83-year-old soul icon Dionne Warwick.
It was a five-hour-plus show that also honored hip-hop trailblazers A Tribe Called Quest, punk pioneers the MC5, the effortless dance music of Kool & the Gang, the soft rock of Foreigner, the beach bum tunes of Jimmy Buffett and the jam band fusion of Dave Matthews Band.
Dua Lipa opened the show singing Cher’s Believe before the 78-year-old icon joined her onstage, giving way to Zendaya who noted that Cher is the only woman to have a No. 1 hit on a Billboard chart in each of the past seven decades.
“Cher has got the goods,” Zendaya said before Cher performed a rocking version of If I Could Turn Back Time. In her speech, Cher thanked her mother for instilling in her to always get back up after defeat.
“I never give up,” she said. “I’m talking to the women- down and out, we keep going.” Roberts helped induct Dave Matthews Band- she’s a self-avowed superfan and she appeared in the band’s video for the 2005 single, Dreamgirl.
Roberts, wearing a band T-shirt, said the appeal of the group is “spontaneous abandon,” adding the first time she danced with her husband was to one ofn their songs.
The jam band, with their mix of funk, folk-rock, jazz, blues and pop, then played Ants Marching – asking the crowd to sing the chorus – Crash and So Much to Say. The arena was still full when they hit the stage after midnight, with the crowd singing along and swaying.
Dr Dre inducted Blige, who is credited with creating a completely new category of music – hip-hop soul. The nine-time Grammy-winner’s best-known song is Family Affair from her triple-platinum 2001 album No More Drama. “When you listen to Mary, you understand you’re not alone in heartbreak,” Dre said.
Musician-actor Jack Black toasted Osbourne, saying that “heaven opened up above me” when he first listened to the album Blizzard of Ozz.” Osbourne, seated in a throne, credited the late guitarist Randy Rhoads and his wife, Sharon, for his career and life. A tribute band to the Prince of Darkness – including Jelly Roll, Billy Idol, Maynard James Keenan, Wolfgang Van Halen, Steve Stevens and Robert Trujillo – played Crazy Train, Mama, I’m Coming Home and No More Tears. (PTI)