Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony Brings Evening of Tributes
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its 40th years with their annual ceremony and a new class of inductees on Saturday night, Nov. 8, at the Peacock Theater…
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebrated its 40th years with their annual ceremony and a new class of inductees on Saturday night, Nov. 8, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
This year, the Rock Hall honored Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and the White Stripes in the performer category, as well as Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon for musical influence; Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye for musical excellence; and Warner Records executive Lenny Waronker with the Ahmet Ertegun Award. For those who didn't catch the festivities live, an edited special will air on ABC on Jan. 1, 2026.
Rock Hall Honors Sly Stone and Ozzy Osbourne
The Rock Hall opened the induction ceremony with a tribute to Sly Stone, who died in June at the age of 82. Stevie Wonder started the Sly tribute by performing "Dance to the Music" backed by the Roots' Questlove behind the drumkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea on bass guitar and Beck on guitar and backing vocals.
On top of honoring Stone, the Rock Hall also paid tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne, who was inducted into the organization both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath. The in memoriam wrapped up with clips of late Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson and a performance of "God Only Knows" by Elton John.
"He was the one who influenced me more than anyone else when it came to writing songs on the piano," Elton said during the ceremony. "Meeting someone who’s a true genius doesn't happen very often."
Another highlight was grunge rock band Soundgarden being inducted into the Rock Hall. Guitarist Kim Thayil, drummer Matt Cameron, and bass players Ben Shepherd and Hiro Yamamoto were there to accept the honor on behalf of late frontman Chris Cornell, who died in 2017 after a concert in Detroit. Actor Jim Carrey inducted the grunge icons and reminisced about when he insisted that they be the musical guest when he hosted "Saturday Night Live" in 1996. The Pretty Reckless vocalist Taylor Momsen, Chris Cornell's Daughter Toni and Brandi Carlile performed with Soundgarden during their set.
