Lionel Richie soared. Pat Benatar roared. Duran Duran stumbled however stayed subtle. Eminem was Eminem.
The 4 acts discovered very alternative ways to have fun on Saturday evening, however all can now endlessly say they’re Rock & Roll Corridor of Famers. So are Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton, who gave the glory an enthusiastic embrace after briefly turning it down.
The primary act inducted on the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles after a memorable speech from a shaven-headed Robert Downey Jr., Duran Duran took the stage and launched into their 1981 breakthrough hit “Ladies on Movie.”
The shrieking crowd was there for it, however the music wasn’t. The band was all however inaudible aside from singer Simon Le Bon, whose vocals had been primarily a cappella.
It was a enjoyable if inauspicious starting to a largely slick and sometimes triumphant present.
“The great spontaneous world of rock ‘n’ roll!” the 64-year-old Le Bon shouted because the band stopped for a do-over.
They kicked again in at full quantity, enjoying a set that included “Hungry Just like the Wolf” and “Abnormal World,” rapidly snapping again into what Downey known as their important high quality: “CSF — cool, subtle enjoyable.”
Lionel Richie introduced each chill and heat to the room hours later, opening his set with a spare rendition of his ballad “Good day” that appeared to make him practically break down from the burden of the second.
“His songs are the soundtrack of my life, your life, everybody’s life,” Lenny Kravitz stated in inducting Richie.
After “Good day,” Richie breezed into his 1977 hit with the Commodores, “Straightforward.” The vibe went from easy to triumphant when Foo Fighters entrance man Dave Grohl made a shock look to play a guitar solo and swap vocals with Richie. That led right into a singalong, celebratory rendition of 1983’s “All Evening Lengthy” that introduced the evening’s largest response.
