CLEVELAND (AP) 鈥� and Cher opened ceremony on Saturday night singing 鈥淏elieve鈥� before giving way to a medley of rump shakers by funk masters Kool & the Gang, rock classics by Foreigner and a powerhouse performance by Dionne Warwick, bringing the house down at 83.
The inductees this year also include: A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, MC5, the late Alexis Korner, , the late Norman Whitfield and the late Big Mama Thornton.
Zendaya inducted Cher. 鈥淲here do I even begin? Cher is not one person,鈥� the actor said. "Her name is just as legendary as her legacy." Zendaya noted that Cher, 78, 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 鈥淚f I Could Turn Back Time.鈥�
In her speech, Cher said she was inspired by Cinderella and thanked her mother for instilling in her to always get back up after defeat. 鈥淭he one thing I got from my mom is to never give up,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 never give up. I'm talking to the women 鈥� down and out, we keep going.鈥�
inducted saying 鈥淭his is a long-due celebration.鈥� The band had 12 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the 1980 chart-topper 鈥淐elebration鈥� as well as 鈥淐herish,鈥� 鈥淕et Down On It,鈥� 鈥淛ungle Boogie,鈥� 鈥淟adies Night鈥� and 鈥淛oanna.鈥� They鈥檝e been eligible for the hall since 1994.
The Roots helped the band do a medley of hits that got the crowd grooving 鈥� led by Robert 鈥淜ool鈥� Bell 鈥� bass guitarist, co-founder and last original member 鈥� and longtime singer James 鈥淛T鈥� Taylor. Confetti shot into the arena and Taylor asked the crowd to use their cellphone lights as he read off the names of 10 members who were critical to the band's success.
arrived at the ceremony only a few days after attending a memorial to her longtime friend and collaborator, , in Newark, New Jersey. Teyana Taylor called her 鈥渢ruly one of a kind鈥� as well as telling off the teleprompter operator for not putting "Ms." before her name. Jennifer Hudson sang 鈥淚鈥檒l Never Love This Way Again鈥� and was joined by Warwick, who also sang 鈥淲alk On By.鈥�
She said this was the third time she was nominated. 鈥淚 am so pleased to be here,鈥� she said. 鈥淚'm just going to say this and get off the stage: Thank you, thank you, thank you.鈥�
introduced and thanked their fans for their tenacity to demand inclusion. The English-American rockers 鈥� with hits like 鈥淐old as Ice,鈥� and 鈥淲aiting for a Girl Like You鈥� 鈥� topped the charts in the 1970s and 鈥�80s but never made it into the Hall 鈥� much less a ballot 鈥� until last year, despite being eligible for more than 20 years.
Hagar noted that Foreigner currently tours without any original members. 鈥淭hat's how good the songs are,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ho deserves this more than Foreigner?鈥� Demi Lovato and Slash joined the touring Foreigner for 鈥淔eels Like the First Time鈥� and Hagar then took lead for "Hot Blooded." Kelly Clarkson thrilled with a powerful 鈥淚 Want to Know What Love Is鈥� but the arena erupted when original singer Lou Gramm joined her. Gramm thanked guitarist Mick Jones, sidelined in New York by Parkinson鈥檚 disease.
Saturday's induction ceremony is being held at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, where the Hall has promised to return to every few years. It streams live on Disney+ and a special with performance highlights will air on ABC on Jan. 1.
The Hall says Dave Matthews Band, Blige and Frampton also will be performing live. When the names of the nominees were read before the telecast, it was Dave Matthews Band that got the biggest cheer in the auditorium.
Warwick, Cher 鈥� who, in addition to her hits, was a pioneer in the use of Auto-Tune 鈥� and Blige, with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, will help boost the number of women in the Hall, which critics say is too low.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they鈥檙e eligible for induction. Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals.
John Sykes, president of entertainment enterprises at iHeartMedia and the chairman of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said Saturday that he and the Hall are trying to bring the inductions back to rock's roots, not expand the category.
鈥淲hat I鈥檓 trying to do is bring over the aperture back up to where it was in the late '50s, where you had Brenda Lee and Hank Williams right next to Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, the Beatles. It was, at that time, this gumbo of artists. It kind of narrowed down over the years. All I can do is bring it back to its original roots.鈥�
Other members of rock, pop and hip-hop royalty will be on hand to help usher the class in, including Ella Mai, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Lucky Daye, Mac McAnally, Method Man, and The Roots.
Julia Roberts will help induct the Dave Matthews Band 鈥� she's a self-avowed superfan and she appeared in the band鈥檚 video for the 2005 single, Busta Rhymes will be performing with A Tribe Called Quest.
While no country act is being inducted this year, country artists will be heard. Kenny Chesney and Mac McAnally teamed up to pay tribute to Buffett, while Urban will play in honor of Frampton.
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
