Nirvana, Kiss and the E Street Band Join Rock Hall

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 2014 Hall of Fame Inductee of Nirvana, Dave Grohl speaks at the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Hall of Fame Inductees, Hall and Oates, Daryl Hall and John Oates speak at the Ceremony on Thursday, April, 10, 2014 in New York. — AP/AFP photos 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Nirvana, Kiss and the E Street Band join rock hall iss made up, but its music went unheard. Nirvana used four Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, that’s the legend.’” women rockers to sing Kurt Cobain’s songs. And Bruce So the band, known for its long concerts, made up for lost time. KSpringsteen’s E Street Band - predictably - turned its honor Their induction took 85 minutes, as individual members ignored into a marathon. The three acts were ushered into the Rock and requests to keep their speeches short. Then they took the stage for Roll Hall of Fame on Thursday in a colorful induction ceremony at performances of “The E Street Shuffle,” “The River” and an epic Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. They were joined by the blue-eyed soul “Kitty’s Back.” “Lucky for you, there are only two of us,” Daryl Hall duo Hall & Oates, British rocker Peter Gabriel, 1970s folkie Cat said when he was inducted with partner John Oates. The duo was a Stevens and the absent Linda Ronstadt. mainstay on the radio during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They Nirvana was the emotional centerpiece. The trio rooted in the performed some of their hits - “She’s Gone,” “I Can’t Go For That” Seattle-area punk rock scene was voted into the hall in its first year and “You Make My Dreams Come True” - although hitting some of of eligibility. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit like a thunderclap upon its the high notes again was a struggle. 1991 release, but the band was done after Kurt Cobain committed suicide 20 years ago this month. “Nirvana fans walk up to me every day and say thank you for the music,” said Krist Novoselic, the band’s bass player, who was inducted with drummer Dave Grohl. “When I hear that, I think of Kurt Cobain.” A subdued Courtney Love, Cobain’s widow, was booed by some in the audience. She said Cobain would have appreciated the hon- or. “Nirvana tapped into a voice that was yearning to be heard,” said former R.E.M. singer Michael Stipe, who described how the band made a community of the disaffected. Joan Jett was chosen to sing “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth, St Vincent and Lorde each took turns at the microphone, with Lorde’s version of “All Apologies” ending the night. Kiss was responsible for pre-ceremony drama. The two original members still active, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, thought the replacements for ex-bandmates Ace Frehley and Peter Criss should perform at the ceremony instead of the original four. The result was Kiss’s music went unheard. Posthumous honor Still, the estranged band members spoke warmly of each other when the quartet appeared behind the microphone. “In and out of makeup, I’ll always be the Catman,” said drummer Criss, referenc- ing his makeup in the band. “You’ve got to forgive to live.” The band received a crowd-pleasing endorsement from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, who said Kiss inspired him to play music. He said he had to fight off high school bullies who ridiculed him for liking the band. “Tonight proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the high school bullies and critics were wrong,” he said. “Kiss fans were right.” Springsteen’s 1999 entrance into the Rock Hall without the E Street Band was a sore point for some of its members. They got their due Thursday in the sidemen category, although it was a posthumous honor for saxman Clarence Clemons and keyboard player Danny Federici. Their leader recalled a kitchen conversation 15 years ago with his buddy and bandmate, Steve Van Zandt. Springsteen took pride in his independence and the band was only beginning to repair Hall of Fame Inductee Cat Stevens speaks onstage. relations after a decade apart. He had no problem being inducted Musicians Joan Jett onstage. alone. “Steve said, ‘yes, I understand,’” Springsteen recalled, “‘but.

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