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NEW YORK — The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is generally one of the year’s swankiest, most exclusive affairs — marked by once-in-a-lifetime collaborations, stunning arguments and $1,500-a-plate dinners at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Sure, you could watch much of it unfold on VH1 or Fuse, but there is something about having that much rock royalty in one place that is hard to capture without seeing (and hearing) it in person. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first induction, the Rock Hall is bringing its wildly ambitious party to the people this week.
“When we put this event together, we were trying to do something similar to the way our induction ceremonies go, when you have disparate inductees playing music together that created something different,” says Joel Peresman, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation’s president and chief executive. “There’s not too many shows where you can see Aretha Franklin and Metallica on the same stage.”
True enough. For its anniversary shows at Madison Square Garden Thursday and Friday, Rock Hall organizers will have Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Stevie Wonder, Simon & Garfunkel, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends headlining the first night and U2, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin and Metallica the second.
In turn, many of the headliners will have special guests as well, as they all aim to tell the story of rock and roll so far. In addition to the E Street Band, Springsteen will have Sam Moore and Darlene Love on hand. Wonder will team with Smokey Robinson, B.B. King and John Legend. Simon will not only play with Garfunkel, but Dion and Little Anthony & the Imperials. Clapton will be joined by Jeff Beck and Buddy Guy for what could shape up to be a guitar lovers’ dream. Franklin will be joined by Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz. Ozzy Osbourne will join Metallica. Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “friends” list will include James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Jackson Browne.
Rock ‘n’ roll pioneers Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard also have signed on, though it’s still not clear where they will be used in the show. After all, the element of surprise during live performances has always been a major part of the rock and roll experience — yet another reason for spending nearly two years planning the massive event.
Peresman says each of the headliners has been building their individual sets, choosing songs and special guests, by collaborating with the concert’s curators — an A-list list on its own that includes Tom Hanks and his production partner Gary Goetzman, Rolling Stone founder and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chairman Jann Wenner, Hall of Famer Robbie Robertson from The Band, and director Cameron Crowe.
“Each of them will cover different bases of the history of rock ‘n’ roll,” says Peresman, adding that the concerts will be edited down into a four-hour HBO special to air Thanksgiving weekend. “The mission for them is to tell their story through their own music and through the music of artists that were really inspirational to them and the genres that helped shaped them.”
With the wide range of artists, concert organizers hope to cover every major rock development in the past 55 years. Genres that might not be fully covered will likely be profiled in one of the numerous concert films that will be shown between sets.
One could argue that there are no rap-rock or punk acts on the bill, at this point, though U2 may tap into its love of punk for the show.
Peresman says organizers are used to these kinds of criticisms. “We hear it all the time with, ‘Why isn’t this one inducted yet?’” he says. “I think people will understand that we can’t fit everything in — these are going to be long shows as it is. I think people will understand the spirit of these shows.”
Proceeds from the concerts will go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which funds the Rock Hall museum in Cleveland, as well as the Rock Hall Annex in New York’s SoHo. It’s part of a bigger fundraising and awareness-raising effort for the Rock Hall, which includes the new “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years” by Holly George-Warren, which collects induction speeches and photos from each of the ceremonies, and the “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live,” a three-DVD set that arrives in stores next week and includes performances from the ceremonies and from the museum-opening concert in Cleveland in 1995.
“We wanted to do something that would really celebrate what rock ‘n’ roll is all about,” says Peresman. “That’s what we’re always trying to do.”
