Stevie Nicks Joined by Don Henley, Harry Styles at Rock Hall Induction Ceremony
Stevie Nicks opened the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony tonight (March 29) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in style, as she always does.
It was a huge occasion; she is the first woman to be inducted into the Rock Hall twice (the first time, of course, was with Fleetwood Mac). Before any speeches, she kicked off the show with a rousing version of “Stand Back.” She noted that she was performing with the cape from the original video shoot.
That’s not all she had with her: in the middle of “Leather and Lace,” her duet partner Don Henley joined her on stage for the song.
Her next guest got the most high pitched screeches from the audience, though: Harry Styles sang T0m Petty‘s vocals for “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.”
Most artists usually get just three songs, but Nicks played four, closing her set with “Edge of Seventeen,” a song that she noted she’s closed her solo shows with for her entire career. She stretched the song out, giving her longtime guitarist Waddy Watchel time to solo while she crossed the stage always shaking her tambourine.
After her performance, Styles took to the stage again as her presenter/inductor.
“Stevie Nicks is the first female artist to be inducted into the Rock and Rol Hall of Fame twice,” he noted, and the crowd at the Barclays Center responded with a standing ovation. “With Stevie, you’re not celebrating music from the past, she was headlining a venue this size three nights ago. She is forever current.”
Style noted that his family listened to her music: “‘Dreams’ was the first song that I knew all the words to,” but at the time, he didn’t know what the words meant, yet. “Her words say, ‘I understand you and you are not alone.’ She was far ahead of her time, creating her own side.”
When Styles mentioned Nicks’ first band – Buckingham/Nicks – with Lindsey Buckingham – the audience cheered.
But he was there to discuss her solo career, and he did. “Bella Donna was a rare solo album that was as powerful as the band she was in,” said Styles.
“You can’t take your eyes off her, she is a magical gypsy,” he said. “She’s like a rock and roll Nina Simone, finding the notes that only she can. However you feel, or want to feel, there is a Stevie Nicks song that will meet you there.”
Styles further gushed, “Somewhere around 2005 or 2006, the woman became god. On Halloween, 1 in 7 people dress like Stevie Nicks. She is both a noun and a verb. To quote my mother, ‘I ‘Stevie Nicksed’ that s— so hard!'”
“Whenever you hear her voice, life gets a little bit better,” he added.
As Styles introduced her back to the stage, he took a knee, to the crowd’s delight.
“This speech thing has been haunting me for two weeks,” Nicks said. She seemed overwhelmed by the honor and noted that she hoped that other women will get in twice.
She spoke about a former boyfriend who advised her that she could put out solo records, while not jeopardizing Fleetwood Mac. “If you’re kind and you’re loving and you tell them you will always put them first” she recalled, he said she could do it. “Yes, my amazing band is still together and strong today.”
“I wanted to make a Tom Petty album, straight up rock and roll,” she said of her debut. She said that she wanted to work with the guy who produced Tom Petty’s album, so he introduced her to Jimmy Iovine. “Ten days later, we moved in together, that’s just how it was.”
Nicks closed her speech with, “If you ever need a keynote speaker, someone to talk to, someone to talk to people, I am your girl!”
An edited version of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air on HBO on Saturday, April 27 at 8 PM ET.
