Cher, Foreigner Attend Rock Hall of Fame Plaque Ceremony: Photos

Dave Matthews surprised fans with a sweet story about his Foreigner fandom during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s plaque dedication ceremony on Friday afternoon in the plaza outside the museum.

A number of this year’s inductees – including Peter Frampton, three members of Foreigner (Lou Gramm, Rick Wills and Al Greenwood), Mary J. Blige, Kool & the Gang’s Robert “Kool” Bell and JT Taylor, and Ahmet Ertegun Award recipient Suzanee de Passe – attended the unveiling on a sun-soaked afternoon, in front of several hundred fans who cheered everything from their arrival to their brief comments during the ceremony.

Rock Hall CEO Greg Harris also acknowledged family members of deceased inductees who were sitting in a VIP area in front of the stage, including Jimmy Buffett’s widow and children, the son and wife (respectively) of late Foreigner members Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi, the parents and widow of A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg, some Kool & the Gang survivors and a contingent representing MC5, including Fred “Sonic” Smith’s children Jackson and Jesse – whose mother, Patti Smith, was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2007.

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The current members of Foreigner -- which will be performing during Saturday night’s induction ceremony – was also in attendance.

Foreigner was top of mind for Matthews as he made his ostensibly unprepared remarks on Friday. “I don’t know in the communication line who didn’t tell me I was gonna have to talk today,” he cracked at the outset, adding that, “It feels like I’m in the deep end of the pool. So many heroes are up here. I didn’t get to everybody but I got to say to a few people up here that they are people that, I don’t want to say worship ‘cause then things get uncomfortable, (but) they’re people that were a huge part of my life that are up here and for why I wanted to play music…It’s an honor to be in the same pack being inducted here and being acknowledged together as a family.”

Matthews then launched into “one quick story,” about, “When I was a little kid, I was taking guitar lessons and my guitar teacher moved to a different place, it was above a studio. And one day I was waiting for my mom to pick me up and they started bringing in all these crates on wheels, cases…and I looked at one of them and it said Foreigner. And I was like, ‘What the fuck?!” And then my mom even told me when I came out to the car, and I was, ‘Wha…!’ And then the first time we ever recorded in a recording studio…we were in one studio room and in the next one was Foreigner, and then we were like, ‘What the fu…!’ And now we’re getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Foreigner. What the fu….!’”

Original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm began the remarks with simple thanks “to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for this wonderful acknowledgement and this stunning award that represents our contributions to the rock community and the band we continue to have with our millions of loyal fans…We are honored and extremely proud.” Foreigner founder Mick Jones will not be at the ceremony due to health issues, while original drummer Dennis Elliott withdrew on Thursday, citing “totally unacceptable” conditions with the weekend schedule.

Frampton – who, like Foreigner, Buffett and MC5 has long been considered one of the Rock Hall’s most egregious slights – spoke about putting a QR code on his concert video screen during the public voting process “and we just stopped playing and I made you vote…I guess it worked, right?” He did add that, “Getting nominated is one thing, getting inducted is something I didn’t believe would ever happen, and I’m totally overwhelmed. I can’t thank the fans enough or voting for me. You are the ones who made this happen, and I’ll keep on thanking you, so thanks again.”

Both de Passe and Taylor choked up while talking about the honor, while Bell said that while he was recently on safari in Africa “we said, ‘All roads lead to Cleveland, to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ – without the jungle boogie.” Blige was similarly moved, saying “this honor is above me.” And after the plaque unveiling, Taylor led an audience singalong to a recorded version of Kool & the Gang’s appropriate “Celebration.”

The plaque, featuring etchings of each of the inductees’ signatures, was quickly moved inside the Rock Hall and was on display during the evening’s VIP party. The induction ceremony takes place at 7 p.m. from Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, streaming live on Disney+.

Mike Love (1988)

The bar for awkwardness was set extremely high early in the Hall's history when Mike Love, who brought Muhammed Ali to the ceremony, spoke when the Beach Boys were inducted in 1988. After taking Paul McCartney and Diana Ross to task for not showing up due to squabbles with, respectively, the other ex-Beatles and former Supremes, Love said his band had always been able to put differences aside because of "harmony." “The Beach Boys did about 180 performances last year,” he said. “I’d like to see the Mop Tops match that. I’d like to see Mick Jagger get out on this stage and do ‘I Get Around’ versus ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,’ any day now." He challenged Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen to get up and jam with them, and closed by saying that Jagger was "chickenshit to get onstage with the Beach Boys." Apparently, he forgot about The T.A.M.I. Show movie, where they were both blown off the stage by James Brown. Love would later blame his speech on having not meditated that day.

Bob Dylan (1988)

Later that same evening, during his own acceptance speech, Bob Dylan referenced the Beach Boy's rambling speech. “I want to thank Mike Love for not mentioning me,” he said. “I play a lot of dates every year too. Peace, love and harmony is greatly important indeed, but so is forgiveness and we gotta have that too.”

The 1988 Jam Session

For the Hall's first few ceremonies, Paul Shaffer and his World's Most Dangerous Band backed all the musicians, culminating in a closing jam featuring all the inductees and presenters. This led to all sorts of confusion on the crowded stage, with mic-hogging and everybody playing over each other. The 1988 ceremony was a particularly cringe-worthy example, with Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen and Mick Jagger singing "I Saw Her Standing There," with George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, the Beach Boys and many more contributing in various capacities, from lead guitar (Jeff Beck) to just standing around (Peter Wolf, Steven Van Zandt).

Phil Spector (1989)

Not only did Phil Spector invite ex-couple Ike and Tina Turner to the event (Ike thought he would give his induction speech, but Tina did the honors), he brought three armed bodyguards onstage with him. Vanity Fair said that he began by saying, "I don't get it. I’m very sorry to have missed the inauguration," presumably referring to the newly sworn-in George H.W. Bush, then went on what the magazine called a "barely coherent 20-minute monologue that left his audience squirming.“

Creedence Clearwater Revival (1993)

John Fogerty couldn't prevent his ex-Creedence Clearwater Revival bandmates Doug Clifford and Stu Cook from speaking at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but he could leverage his position as the band's singer and primary songwriter to keep them off the stage during the performance. As Fogerty wrote in his autobiography, he claimed the others sold their shares of the band to the head of their label, with whom Fogerty had long feuded. "I'm just not going to stand on a stage with those people," he recalled telling the Hall, "three in a row, play our songs and be presented as a band — particularly because these guys just sold their rights in that band to my worst enemy. I also made it very clear that if I didn't play at all, that was fine too." Instead, Fogerty played with Bruce Springsteen, Robbie Robertson, Don Was and Jim Keltner.

Eddie Vedder Fronts the Doors (1993)

As a dark-haired baritone with a habit of holding onto the microphone as if his life depended on it, Eddie Vedder might have seemed like a natural to take the place of the late Jim Morrison when the Doors were inducted in 1993. But the Pearl Jam singer failed to convey the danger and swagger needed to pull off "Light My Fire" and "Roadhouse Blues," and, as such, never rose above the level of decent karaoke.

Led Zeppelin (1995)

When Led Zeppelin were inducted in 1995, Robert Plant and Jimmy Page had gotten back together for the No Quarter album and were a few days from beginning a world tour. All without the other surviving member of the band, John Paul Jones, whose speech consisted of solely, "I'd just like to add also my thanks to [manager] Peter Grant ,who gave us the freedom to do what we did. And also thank you, my friends, for finally remembering my phone number."

The Velvet Underground (1996)

For all the personal issues among the members of the Velvet Underground, they were on their best behavior for the ceremony. Not only did the three survivors -- Lou Reed, John Cale and Maureen Tucker -- perform together, they wrote a new song, "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend," a tribute to the deceased member, Sterling Morrison. Instead, the awkward moment came after Patti Smith's induction speech, when she couldn't find the statues. "I know they have awards here somewhere," she said, before locating them behind her.

Blondie (2006)

As with Creedence Clearwater Revival more than a decade earlier, a fight between the singer and estranged band members of Blondie, which involved a lawsuit, made for a particularly awkward moment. Frank Infante, Gary Valentine and Nigel Harrison were inducted, but Debbie Harry would only perform with the then-current lineup. Though he said he would be on his best behavior, Infante pleaded his case for one last moment of glory. "One thing that could really make it better would be if we could actually perform for you tonight," he said. "But for some reason, some of us are not allowed to do that." He turned to Harry, who stepped up to the mic and kissed him on the lips before rejecting him. "Can't you see my band is up there?" she asked. "Oh, your band," Infante shot back. "I thought Blondie was being inducted tonight. Sorry." Harrison added, "It's nice to see everyone out of the courtroom."

Sex Pistols (2006)

The Sex Pistols refused to show up for their 2006 induction. Instead, John Lydon faxed a letter to the Hall, which Jann Wenner, one of the Hall's founders, read in full to the audience. "Next to the Sext Pistols, rock 'n' roll and that Hall of Fame is a piss stain," it began. "Your museum. Urine in wine. We're not coming. We're not your monkey and so what? Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table, or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery, goes to a nonprofit organization selling us a load of old famous. Congratulations. If you voted for us, hope you noted your reasons. You're anonymous as judges, but you're still music industry people. We're not coming. You're not paying attention. Outside the shit-stem is a real Sex Pistol."

The Ronettes (2007)

Phil Spector had long lobbied to keep the Ronettes out of the Hall. But the girl group got the last laugh when they were inducted a week before Spector's trial for murdering Lana Clarkson was to begin. In their speeches, neither Ronnie Spector, who accused him of abuse during their marriage, nor Estelle Bennett and Nedra Talley mentioned the producer.

Van Halen (2007)

Three of Van Halen's original members didn't turn up -- Eddie Van Halen was in rehab and David Lee Roth didn't want to be backed by Velvet Revolver -- so only Michael Anthony and Sammy Hagar were on-hand to accept their induction to the Hall. Both men, who had been out of the group since the end of the 2004 tour, thanked their former bandmates (Anthony also gave a shout-out to onetime singer Gary Cherone) and their respective families.

Velvet Revolver Cover Van Halen (2007)

Without Van Halen's namesakes to provide the music, the Hall turned to Velvet Revolver to both induct the band and perform in its place. But frontman Scott Weiland was ill-suited to sing "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and the a chorus of "Runaround." It got a little better when Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony came on for "Why Can't This Be Love."

The Stooges Cover Madonna (2008)

Madonna attended her induction in 2008 but didn't feel like playing. Instead, she asked the Stooges, who delivered revved-up renditions of "Burnin' Up" and "Ray of Light." At one point, Iggy Pop, shirtless as always, went into the audience to sing directly to Madonna, who was seated in the front row and laughing. As awkward as it was, it was also kinda awesome.

Guns N' Roses (2012)

The induction of Guns N' Roses in 2012 led to months of speculation as to whether or not Axl Rose would reunite with the vintage-era members (the Appetite for Destruction lineup plus Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed were inducted). But on the eve of the ceremony, Rose sent an open letter to the Hall declining his induction and wouldn't allow anybody to speak on his behalf. His reason was that being onstage with his ex-bandmates was a disservice to the current lineup. Instead, Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Myles Kennedy performed "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Mr. Brownstone" and "Paradise City."

Steve Miller (2016)

Steve Miller used the induction of his band as an opportunity to criticize the Hall. In his acceptance speech, he urged them to be "more inclusive of women and to be more transparent in your dealings with the public, and most importantly, to do much more to revive music in our schools." During the post-ceremony press conference, he launched into a diatribe about how the Hall provided him only two tickets, with his band members having to pay their own way. Over the next few days, he continued to make headlines by saying that the Rock Hall does nothing "besides talk about itself and sell postcards," calling them a "bunch of jackasses and jerks and fucking gangsters and crooks who've fucking stolen everything from a fuckng artist" and that he wanted to have their finances investigated.

Dire Straits (2017)

Neither Mark Knopfler nor drummer Pick Withers gave a reason why they wouldn't show up for Dire Straits' 2018 induction, and Knopfler's brother David said the Hall reneged on their promise to cover his travel costs. Instead, it was left to founding bassist John Illsley and keyboardists Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher -- both of whom joined in the '80s -- to accept the honor. Nobody gave an induction speech; nobody performed any of the band's songs either.

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