Foo Fighters (photo: Danny Clinch)
An all-star group of artists celebrated the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2021 on Saturday night in Cleveland. According to Rolling Stone, the evening started with Taylor Swift paying tribute to inductee Carole King with a cover of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” before inducting the legendary singer/songwriter. LL Cool J was honored with the Musical Excellence Award and not an official induction in the Hall, but still got an induction speech from Dr. Dre and performed a series of his hits, with special surprise guest Eminem joining him on “Rock the Bells.” LL also brought out another surprise, as Jennifer Lopez reprised her 2003 duet “All I Have.”
Tina Turner did not travel from Europe to Cleveland for the event but was inducted by Angela Bassett, who played the music icon in the 1993 biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It, followed by a series of artists covering Turner’s hits.
Todd Rundgren has spoken out numerous times about his lack of interest in the Rock Hall but he was inducted this year anyway, with a brief recorded speech from Patti Smith. Pre-recorded video tributes were also given for additional artists inducted who either had passed away or could not be there in person, such as Billy Preston, Kraftwerk, Randy Rhodes and Gil Scott-Heron, among others.
Drew Barrymore inducted The Go-Go’s, raving about how much their music meant to her before the five members of the group took the stage. Bassist Kathy Valentine advocated for more female artists’ inclusion into the Hall, saying, “By honoring our historical contribution, the doors to this establishment have opened wider and the Go-Go’s will be advocating for the inclusion of more women. Women who have paved the way for us and others. Women who started bands, who sing and write songs, who excel on their instruments, who make and produce records. Because here is the thing: There would not be less of us if more of us were visible,” according to Rolling Stone. The group then played a series of their classic hits.
It was unknown what Jay-Z‘s part of the evening would be, as the Rap superstar did not perform, nor did anyone else on his behalf. Instead, a tribute video was played featuring President Barack Obama and a series of A-list celebrities. This was followed by a surprise speech from Dave Chapelle, who has been embroiled in controversy this month over his recent Netflix special, introducing Jay, who then spoke at length about his career.
Paul McCartney took the stage to induct the Foo Fighters, who played some of their biggest hits before a surprisingly brief speech from Dave Grohl. The night ended with McCartney and the Foos teaming up to play The Beatles‘ classic “Get Back.”
An edited-down version of the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will debut on HBO and HBO Max on Saturday, November 20 at 8pm ET.
