Following their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, legendary electronic music group Kraftwerk are taking a victory lap. It’s a circuit through North America that has been long overdue. In 2020, the pioneering band had intended to celebrate their momentous 50-year anniversary with a tour, but their plans were scrapped in the wake of the pandemic. However, as they say, good things come to those who wait, and there’s even more to celebrate with Kraftwerk’s newly announced 2022 summer run. After six rejections for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame consideration, the German quartet couldn’t be denied. This past weekend, the iconic Computer World producers were finally welcomed into the elite club alongside a formidable class of artists including Carole Kin...
After skipping a year due to the pandemic, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its 2021 class with a wild, surprise-guest-filled party held in the town many argue is the ceremony’s only rightful home: Cleveland, Ohio. What a homecoming it was. Paul McCartney became a seventh Foo Fighter. LL Cool J, Eminem, and J. Lo blew up the night like old-school hip-hop Avengers. And later, LL was the only person on the arena floor to stand and clap for the late, great Biz Markie. Both Carli(s)les — Brandi and Belinda — were in the house. Drew Barrymore did Ponds performance art. [embedded content][embedded content] The Go-Go’s swore to use their induction to get more female bands into the painfully male-dominated institution. And, randomly, Survivor host Jeff Probst was there — the sol...
Foo Fighters joined the ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the final act enshrined during Saturday night’s induction ceremony. Following his induction into the Rock Hall as a member of Nirvana in 2014, Foo Fighters’ mastermind Dave Grohl saw his name etched into history for a second time. But for Grohl and the rest of the band, Pat Smear’s long-overdue induction into the Hall of Fame was the biggest highlight of the evening. The 62-year-old Smear played in some of music’s most influential bands, including the Germs and Nirvana, but it wasn’t until Foo Fighters received that rightful place in the hallways of Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until Smear received the recognition he long deserved. Sir Paul McCartney was on hand to introduce Foo Fighters. In his speech, he c...
Taylor Swift kicked off the 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony by introducing “the greatest songwriter of all time,” Carole King. Prior to her speech, Swift took the stage to cover “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?”, the modern pop standard originally written by King in 1960. You can watch fan-captured footage of the performance below. In her introduction speech, Swift recalled “being raised by two of her biggest fans, who taught me the basic truths of life as they saw it: That you should treat people the way you want to be treated, that you must believe that you can achieve whatever you want to in life, and that Carole King is the greatest songwriter of all time.” Advertisement Related Video “Her songs speak to the true and honest feelings that everyone has felt, is curren...
LL Cool J celebrated his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a star-studded performance featuring surprise appearances from Eminem and Jennifer Lopez. The veteran rapper performed a medley of his greatest hits, kicking off with the one-two punch of “Rock Around the Clock” and “Going Back to Cali.” Eminem, who himself will likely be a first-ballot inductee of the Rock Hall once he becomes eligible next year, then joined LL Cool J for a spirited rendition of “Rock the Bells.” LL Cool J closed the set by performing “I’m Bad,” “All I Have” with Lopez, and “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Advertisement Related Video Watch fan-captured footage of the performance below. During tonight’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, LL Cool J was presented with the Musical Excellence Awa...
“Well this is nice, this is quaint,” Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl said, taking in the audience Thursday night at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio. He tucked his mane behind both ears like a professor adjusting his reading glasses. It’s been a while since Grohl, 52, could recognize faces from the stage since he mostly performs to thousands in football stadiums. “How the hell did everyone get tickets for this?” Grohl joked. “I’m just assuming, a good internet connection?” The spectacular one-off show marked the beginning of Rock Hall weekend. On Saturday, a Beatle will induct all six members — Grohl, guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, bassist Nate Mendel, and drummer Taylor Hawkins — into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Foos...
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced an all-star list of presenters that will induct the 2021 nominees including Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters, and Todd Rundgren. The ceremony will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 20. The star-studded event will take place October 30 at Rocket Mortagage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Kraftwerk, Charley Patton, and Gil Scott-Heron are being inducted in the Early Influence category, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, and Randy Rhoads in Musical Excellence, and Clarence Avant for the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The official all-star presenter list includes Angela Bassett inducting inducting Tina Turner, with performances by Christina Aguilera, Mickey Guyton, H.E.R., and Bryan Adams; Taylor...
If you live in Maui, like Todd Rundgren does, you do not have to apologize for just chillin’ your way through the pandemic. Rundgren, though, has done anything but that. The veteran multi-hyphenate — producer of landmark albums for Meat Loaf, Grand Funk Railroad and others, as well as his own robust repertoire — has been characteristically hard at work and, save for being off the road, has not slowed down a great deal during the past 19 months. He even went “on tour” earlier this year with a series of virtual concerts, performed from Chicago and targeted to specific cities. Rundgren has also released four singles during the past year or so, slated for his next album, Space Force. That includes collaborations with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo (“Down With the Ship”), Narcy (“Espionage”) and, most r...
After being denied entry six times, pioneering electronic group Kraftwerk have finally been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For decades the Kraftwerk’s work has been sampled, remixed, and studied by artists across nearly every genre, with a heavy emphasis on electronic music. In a statement from the museum itself, they state that what we hear today might not have been possible without the band’s contributions. “[Kraftwerk] established the blueprint for modern electronic music – without them it simply would not exist,” the statement reads. Also joining Kraftwerk in the Hall’s Class of 2021 are Tina Turner, Carole King, Jay-Z, The Go-Go’s, Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, Charley Patton, Gil Scott-Heron, LL Cool J, Billy Preston...