The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts the on Saturday. It鈥檚 the first time the ceremony will be at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and the first time its being held in-person since 2019.
In the performer category, there are several people being honored for the second time. In 1990, was inducted as a songwriter. Now, she鈥檚 being recognized for her recording career. Similarly, was inducted 30 years ago as part of Ike & Tina Turner 鈥� and she now gets a solo induction as well. Warren鈥檚 Dave Grohl was inducted with Nirvana -- the band for which he played drums, sang, and wrote songs 鈥� . He鈥檒l get into the hall for a second time on Saturday, as leader of Foo Fighters.
Grohl鈥檚 band will be presented by Sir Paul McCartney 鈥� a dual honoree himself 鈥� and one of several high-profile presenters this year, such as Taylor Swift and Lionel Richie.
Past honorees say one of the best parts of the ceremony is getting to meet the person who welcomes them into the Hall of Fame. The Doors鈥� Robbie Krieger remembers when Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam inducted his band in 1993.
鈥淭o us, it really wasn鈥檛 that big of a deal, but it sounded fun [because] Eddie Vedder was going to sing with us. He was quite a Doors fan. When we were hanging around the hotel before the show, I went up to his room and hung out. And he just grilled me about everything. He was really into The Doors 鈥� especially Jim [Morrison].鈥�
Krieger spoke with WKSU ahead of his appearance with the Hudson Library, promoting his new book, 鈥�.鈥�
Fifty years ago
The Doors released their last album with lead singer Jim Morrison in 1971. That鈥檚 the same year Todd Rundgren began recording his masterpiece, "Something/Anything?," released the next year. Although he鈥檚 been eligible since the mid-90s, Rundgren has .
On Friday night, he . On Saturday, he鈥檒l be at ICON Music Center in Cincinnati, instead of in Cleveland for the Rock Hall ceremony. But he鈥檚 been a favorite of local audiences since the late 1960s, when his band Nazz made a name for itself on the north coast.
One of his major fans in Northeast Ohio was a young woman from Massillon, who grew up to be the Mayor of Chicago. Last year, , Lori Lightfoot spoke of her admiration for Rundgren鈥檚 work.
"I think that he is really quite a genius, particularly if you look at some of his early work in the early-to-mid '70s.鈥�
Lightfoot won鈥檛 be attending the ceremony, either, but she does plan to catch one of his shows in Chicago next week. After that, Rundgren returns to Northeast Ohio for shows at MGM Northfield Park. On many stops of his current tour, Rundgren recreates his 1973 album "A Wizard, A True Star" 鈥� something he also did on his 2009 tour, which stopped at the Akron Civic Theater. WKSU's Jeff St. Clair at the time. Here鈥檚 Rundgren at the old Cleveland Agora in 1978:
God Bless The Go-Gos
Another act which has been eligible for over a decade enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday: The debut Go-Go's LP gave them the distinction of being the first all-female group to write their own songs, play their own instruments and top the album chart.
Lakewood-based author Annie Zaleski has written extensively about The Go-Go鈥檚, including looking back at the impact of 鈥淏eauty and the Beat.鈥� She says the band鈥檚 continued success speaks to how things have changed over four decades.
鈥淩ock and roll was such a male-dominated genre that women weren鈥檛 given the opportunities. They weren鈥檛 necessarily seen as equal to men, or as talented as men. Which, of course, was completely unfair and completely untrue.鈥� Zaleski hopes inducting The Go-Go鈥檚 signals that Rock Hall voters have recognized the influence of New Wave acts such as Duran Duran 鈥� -- The Smiths, and The B-52s.
On Friday, The Go-Go鈥檚 will be interviewed live on the Rock Hall鈥檚 outdoor stage, followed by a signing for new books from Kathy Valentine and Gina Schock. .
First ballot inductees
While fans of The Go-Go鈥檚 and Todd Rundgren have waited 25 years to see their inductions, hip hop pioneer Jay-Z will enter the Hall on Saturday in his first year of eligibility. (An act can be nominated 25 years after the release of its first record).
Musical Excellence
This year鈥檚 award recognizing outstanding support performers will go to rapper , legendary heavy metal , and Billy Preston, who worked with and Ray Charles, and had several hits of his own. He was also the very first musical guest on 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥� (then titled 鈥淣BC鈥檚 Saturday Night鈥�) when it debuted on October 11, 1975:
The Hall will also give the Ahmet Ertegun Award to R&B Entrepreneur Clarence Avant on Saturday. Blues musician and electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk are among this year's Early Influence honorees.
Earlier this year, just after the Class of 2021 was announced, Barnett was on the show along with ideastream Manager of Arts & Culture Carrie Wise, and WKSU's Amanda Rabinowitz and Kabir Bhatia.
Soul writer-performer Gil Scott-Heron is the final 2021 Early Influence. Here he is on the seventh edition of 'NBC's Saturday Night':
In Amanda Rabinowitz spoke with concert promoter and Rock Hall Boardmember Alec Wightman about his new book, "Music In My Life: Notes From a Longtime Fan."
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