LOS ANGELES (AP) — Salt-N-Pepa threw on the multicolored leather jackets from their “Push It” video and brought the crowd at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony to its feet with a romping rendition of their 1987 breakthrough hit.
“This is for every woman who picked up a mic when they told her she couldn’t,” Cheryl “Salt” James said Saturday while accepting the musical influence award that made her, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella
members of the hall.
In a rousing speech at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, James brought up their fight to reclaim their master recordings from Universal Music Group.
“The industry still doesn’t want to play fair, Salt-N-Pepa have never been afraid of a fight,” James said.
They took the stage for a medley of their hits. They opened with “Shoop” then slid into “Let’s Talk About Sex” before En Vogue joined them for their joint hit “What a Man.” “Push It” pushed the energy up another notch.
Spinderella became the first female DJ to enter the hall.
“The female rappers had to step to the mic and show that they could go toe to toe with the guys. And Salt, Pepa and Spinderella did it,” Missy Elliott said while inducting the trio.
Cyndi Lauper, Outkast and the White Stripes are among the artists who will be inducted later.
Stevie Wonder led a funky and flashy tribute to the late Sly Stone to open the show that's streaming live on Disney+, will be available on Hulu Sunday and will air in an edited version on ABC on Jan 1.
Wonder was joined Saturday night by Questlove, Leon Thomas, Maxwell, Beck, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers for rousing renditions of Sly and the Family Stone hits “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Thank You.” Jennifer Hudson joined them to wail through “Higher.”
Stone, who was inducted into the hall in 1993, died in June. Brian Wilson, who died two days later, will also get a tribute from Elton John.
Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac began the ceremony proper by inducting Bad Company. He called the British group founded by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs in 1973 “classic rock legends” and “one of the first super groups,” but said that, more importantly, “they were four great musicians who came together for the love of music.”
Rodgers had to skip the ceremony because of health issues and Ralphs died earlier this year, so drummer Simon Kirke was the only member who took the stage.
He was joined by an ad hoc super group that blasted through a few of the super group's biggest hits.
Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson took lead vocals on their hit “Feel Like Makin' Love,” with Nancy Wilson of Heart and Joe Perry of Aerosmith on guitars. Bryan Adams took the stage to sing “Can't Get Enough.”
“I've never played in a tuxedo before” said Kirke as he accepted the honor for the group.
He got emotional as he thanked Ralphs' wife Susie for taking care of him.
The late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon was inducted by David Letterman, a friend and superfan who made Zevon a regular on his NBC late-night show.
“Warren Zevon is in my Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Letterman said. “Actually his own wing.”
A clip was shown from Zevon's final appearance on the show in 2002, when he was dying of cancer. “Enjoy every sandwich,” Zevon said when Letterman asked what he'd learned about mortality.
Letterman was tearful as he showed the crowd a guitar that Zevon gave him later that night.
“He's never going away,” Bruce Springsteen said in a recorded tribute. “He's got a body of work that's as good as anybody's.”
Letterman outlined several categories of Zevon's cleverly emotional tunes, the final one being “songs about werewolves” to a big laugh from the crowd. 1978's “Werewolves of London” was Zevon's biggest, and most unlikely, hit.
The Killers then played Zevon's second-biggest hit, “Lawyers, Guns and Money.”
Zevon also got the Musical Influence Award, an honor granted by a committee that is a sort of side door in the hall.
From Chubby Checker to the White Stripes, artists representing every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s are being inducted as part of the hall's class of 2025.
Chappell Roan is set to induct Lauper, and Avril Lavigne is set to take the stage with her. Donald Glover has been tapped to induct Outkast.
