USA: Hip Hop enters into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, while tensions keep most members of Van Halen from showing at the awards ceremony

Rap crossed musical genres and broke cultural barriers on Monday (March 13) when the first hip-hop artists were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Pioneering hip-hop artists Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five were ushered into the prestigious group of artists, as well as rock groups Van Halen - without the attendance of several members - and R.E.M., punk rock poet Patti Smith and 1960s all-girl group The Ronettes. Only one of Van Halen's lead singers, Sammy Hagar, and ex-bass player Michael Anthony took home the Hall of Fame's signature trophy. Absent was another former lead singer David Lee Roth, who is reported to have disagreed on what to perform, and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who had announced four days ago he would enter rehab. It was rumoured that Van Halen might tour in 2007, but Hagar said that a tour would probably not happen until all members "grew up". "If we all grew up, and including me and Mike, and all of us could all grow up and maybe all of us do it together, I'm down with that anytime, any place, anywhere. But let's just hope that Eddie comes out the other side better than ever and I think that would make everything a lot easier," said Hagar. In honour of their break-through induction, Grandmaster Flash, aka Joseph Saddler, performed the record-scratching technique he helped establish along with MC's Melle Mel, Rahiem, Scorpio and Kid Creole, mixing a string of their hits including sampling Chic's "Good Times" and Melle Mel's "White Lines". Backstage, Scorpio told reporters that he was proud to be one of hip hop's pioneers, despite the fact that current hip hop artists are getting much higher salaries than he ever did. "It's really the best time to get in it and get that wealth because realistically if we would've got what these cats are getting now back then, we probably wouldn't be here now, so now that we got a little more discipline about things, it's the best time. So the wealth train is still on the tracks," said Scorpio. R.E.M. was introduced by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, who called their music "truly all-encompassing." R.E.M lead singer Michael Stipe recalled his grandmother's dying words to "remember every moment" before the band launched into "Man on the Moon." Patti Smith, head swaying and shirt flying, performed three songs at the awards show and dedicated her award to her deceased husband. "I thank everyone who has encouraged me through the years and all the people who come to our concerts and help me when I forget the words, which is all the time. I accept this wonderful honour in the name of Fred Sonic Smith," Smith said. The Ronettes, 1960s three-member girl group, were also honoured with an induction. Lead singer and wife of music producer Phil Spector, Ronnie Spector performed the group's most well-known song, "Be My Baby" and said that she had dreamt of the day she would enter into the Hall of Fame. Artists become eligible for Hall of Fame induction 25 years after the release of their first record and are represented in a permanent exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

ITN Source | March 16, 2007

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