2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies on Fuse TV

In recent years the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremonies presented by Fuse TV was commercial free and unedited. These telecasts would be 4 to 5 hours in length. In 2011 it was edited down to two-hours with a significant amount of commercials. Quite frankly I was not looking forward to sitting for at least four hours this year. I didn't have to worry, because it went immediately into the first inductee and proceeded onward till the finale, which was only on for a few minutes.

They interspersed the inductees' speech with highlighted portions of their selected performances. What is always interesting with these induction ceremonies are my favorite artist(s) usually give good speeches and performances, but it is the other lesser known inductees that end up shining through and stealing the show. This year was no exception. My favorites were The Alice Cooper Band and Neil Diamond, the former was very entertaining, but the latter somewhat disappointing.

Dr. John - It was after a Hurricane Katrina Relief benefit where John Legend first met Malcolm John "Mac" Rebbennack or Dr. John. Legend had the honors of inducting this New Orleans musician whose big hit was "Right Place, Wrong Time." They both performed a piano duet of "Such a Night."

Darlene Love - Bette Midler for once gave a very respectful and clean speech to induct this lead singer and sometimes back-up singer on many of the Phil Spector hits singing about innocence and love. It was hilarious when Midler says she now has a connection to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame while googling her name.

When Darlene gave her speech she mentioned her birthday was coming up and would turn 70 years old. There was a collective gasp in the audience, because Ms. Love looks and sounds fabulous for her age. Her solo performance of "The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" was outstanding. Afterwards, Bruce Springsteen came onstage while playing the guitar for "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah." Finally, Bette joined Love in a duet of "He's a Rebel."

Alice Cooper Band - Inducted by Rob Zombie who was awesome when he reminisced about painting a portrait of the lead singer dripping in blood for his fourth grade project. Thankfully there was none of that shock rock in the band's safe performances of "Eighteen" and "School's Out" joined later on by Zombie. During Alice Cooper's speech he actually had a boa constrictor around his neck. It was a creepy sight. I can only imagine what the audience must have felt like.

Tom Waits - This extraordinary artist has written songs for Bruce Springsteen, The Ramones, Rod Stewart and Johnny Cash to name a few. Even though I had heard of Waits as a songwriter and actor I wasn't too familiar with his performances until now. Neil Young gave a passionate speech without notes, but spoke from the heart, to induct Waits. It was funny when Tom Waits wanted a keychain version of his Hall of Fame statue. Talk about gut-wrenching and emotional vocals when he sang "Make It Rain" and "Rain Dogs." Now that was true artistry we were witnessing on stage. You could tell he was deeply appreciated by his peers in the audience.

Leon Russell - The list of notable artists Elton John was reading off of where Russell has played on in recording sessions is virtually a "Who's Who" of pre-rock and roll era to post rock. Elton John said he had lost touch with Leon until a song of his came up on his iPod. He gave him a call to collaborate on an album. Russell sang "Delta Lady" and a "Song For You." John Mayer joined on guitar for the latter song.

Neil Diamond - Always the consummate concert performer whom I have seen a number of times in concert seemed a bit off with his acceptance speech and song selections that were televised. It didn't help much with Paul Simon's weird induction speech. The crowd was noticeably silent when Simon stated why Diamond had not been inducted earlier into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since his 1991 eligibility was Barbra Streisand and their duet "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."

Simon further added insult to injury by saying "It's not rock 'n' roll. I don't even think they let that DNA near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." Diamond did make a remark later on about this and the crowd then cheered. He was very proud of his collaboration with Streisand. However, Diamond seemed grouchy and ungrateful for having to travel as a musician, needing to work to pay for his children's dental bills, and on and on. Who cares? His performances of "I Am I Said" and "Sweet Caroline" were mediocre.

Fuse will be re-broadcasting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for those that missed its initial airing. Be sure to check their website weekly schedule for dates and times. All in all this was an entertaining and fascinating induction ceremony, especially the stellar performances from Darlene Love, Alice Cooper Band and Tom Waits.

SOURCES:

2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Fuse.tv

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, RockHall.com

"Big rock night for Diamond, Cooper, Waits, others", Music - Mail.com

Paul Brown, "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Recap", Suite101.com