Last night (November 5), one of the biggest nights in rock music took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and music legends across all genres came together to celebrate their storied careers and cement their place in history. The artists inducted include Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were honored for Musical Excellence while Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten were awarded for their Early Influence. The Ahmet Ertegun Award was created for non-performing industry professionals who dedicated their lives to the artists and their music, this year’s award was given to Jimmy Iovine, Allen Grubman, and Sylvia Robinson.
This year’s ceremony is its first time in Los Angeles since 2013 and they pulled out all the stops. For her performance, Dolly Parton set out to make a statement. Before she launched into her star-studded performance, which featured appearances from P!nk and Brandi Charlie to name a few, she detailed how she initially declined her induction honors claiming she felt she hadn’t earned it yet. Ironically, Parton launched into an award-worthy performance that was capped off by the rest of this year’s inductees (except Eminem) for an electric rendition of “Jolene”. The most notable star to join Parton for her classic tune was Judas Priest’s Rob Halford, whose band put on their own energy-filled performance later on in the ceremony.
For Eminem’s performance, he strung together some of the biggest hits of his career, a reminder as to why he deserves to be mentioned amongst the legends. His long time collaborator Dr.Dre gave his introduction speech before the rapper spanned his career by performing hits like “My Name Is” and “Rap God”. It wasn’t too long until Em brought out some stars himself as Steven Tyler joined him to perform the “Dream On” sampled song “Sing For The Moment”. Ed Sheeran then appeared on stage to perform “Stan” before Em closed his set out with “Not Afraid”.
Some other memorable moments from the night included a harmonious performance from Dave Ghrol and Lionel Richie, appearances from Olivia Rodrigo and Sara Bareilles during Carly Simon’s time on stage, and a firework-riddled performance from Judas Priest. The night was capped off by a heartfelt speech from Jimmy Iovine who was inducted by Bruce Springsteen.
You can check out some highlights from the night below but the full show will be streaming on HBO, available on November 19.
