NEW YORK (AP) — Mary J. Blige,Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a class that also includes folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton.
Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton earned the Musical Influence Award, while the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield will get the Musical Excellence Award. Pioneering music executive Suzanne de Passe won the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
“Rock ‘n’ roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”
The induction ceremony will be held Oct. 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It will stream live on Disney+ with an airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day.
Those music acts nominated this year but didn't make the cut included Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, soul-pop singer Sade, Britpoppers Oasis, hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim and alt-rockers Jane’s Addiction.
There had been a starry push to get Foreigner — with the hits “Urgent” and "Hot Blooded" — into the hall, with Mark Ronson, Jack Black, Slash, Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney all publicly backing the move. Ronson's stepfather is Mick Jones, Foreigner's founding member, songwriter and lead guitarist.
Osbourne, who led many parents in the 1980s to clutch their pearls with his devil imagery and sludgy music, goes in as a solo artist, having already been inducted into the hall with metal masters Black Sabbath.
Four of the eight nominees — Cher, Foreigner, Frampton and Kool & the Gang — were on the ballot for the first time.
Cher — the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades — and Blige, with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, will help boost the number of women in the hall, which critics say is too low.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction.
Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans voted online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied with the other professional ballots.
Last year, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, Kate Bush and the late George Michael were some of the artists who got into the hall.
Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
Dave Matthews, of Dave Matthews Band, performs on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta, Ga. Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 also will include folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. The induction ceremony will be Oct. 19, 2024. (Photo by Paul R. Giunta/Invision/AP)
FILE - Mary J. Blige onstage during the MTV Video Music Awards on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023, at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 also will include folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton. The induction ceremony will be Oct. 19, 2024. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — It's a dilemma no business owner should have to face: whether to reopen after a mass shooting.
The answer didn't come easily to Justin and Samantha Juray. But when they did decide to reopen their Maine bowling alley, they didn't hold back.
When patrons returned Friday, six months after the gunman opened fire, they were impressed by the scenic images and messages of resilience at the end of each lane, bright paint on the walls and new floors. The Lewiston venue has undergone a complete makeover, giving it a vibrant, airy feel.
“It looks beautiful,” said Lena Galipeau, who works with a group of adults with disabilities who'd been anxious to return.
Samantha Juray gets emotional when recalling the events of Oct. 25, when the gunman killed eight people at the bowling alley before driving to a nearby bar and pool hall where he killed 10 more during the deadliest shooting in the state's history. He later died by suicide.
“It's never going to leave my head,” Juray said. “I think if we don't move forward — not that there was a point to this whole thing anyway — but we're just going to allow the people that have taken so much from us win.”
Justin Juray initially was dead-set against reopening and they also got some negative outside feedback. But that all changed, she said, as people in Lewiston rallied behind them. Within weeks, they knew they had to reopen, Samantha Juray said.
They decided to keep the same name: Just-In-Time Recreation. They call it that because when they bought the venue three years ago, the owner was days away from shutting it down. It also fits with Justin’s name.
John Robinson attended the reopening with his son Colin, who was there with his mother the night of the shooting. Robinson said it was emotional to return to the bowling alley — he'd also been to an earlier soft launch with families — but it also felt like a weight had been lifted. He knew all those who died at the bowling alley and counted them as friends.
“I can't say how great this day is,” he said. “An opportunity to celebrate their lives. To celebrate the rebirth of Just-In-Time.”
He said the reopening was important for bowlers across the region because there aren't many places to bowl in Maine and they're spread out.
Across the country, people have taken varied approaches after mass shootings. Barbara Poma, the former owner of the Pulse nightclub in Florida where 49 people were killed in 2016, said every situation and community is different.
“You are suddenly thrown into a state of shock, and emotions dictate your thoughts,” Poma said in an email. "Eventually you are forced to make a critical business decision based on how it will impact others emotionally and publicly. There just is no easy or right answer.”
The City of Orlando last year agreed to buy the Pulse nightclub site to create a memorial.
In Aurora, Colorado, a movie theater where 12 people were killed in 2012 later reopened under a new name. Buffalo’s Tops Friendly Market reopened in 2022, two months after 10 Black people were killed.
In Newtown, Connecticut, Sandy Hook Elementary School was razed, and there also are plans to bulldoze Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
In Lewiston, Kathy Lebel, who owns the second business hit by the gunman, Schemengees Bar & Grille, also hopes to reopen at a different venue.
At the bowling alley, Tom Giberti said people are “so excited to get us back.”
Giberti, who has worked at the bowling alley for 20 years, is credited with saving the lives of at least four children the night of the shooting. He ushered them along a narrow walkway between the lanes to an area behind the pins. Before Giberti could get to safety himself, he was shot in both legs and hit with shrapnel.
After undergoing surgery, it wasn't long before Giberti stopped using the mobility walker he'd been given. These days, he enjoys playing golf and shows few physical signs of his injuries as he strides about the bowling alley.
A lot of people in Lewiston have helped get the venue reopened, he said.
“The community has been phenomenal,” Giberti said. “They’ve been right here for us, they’ve been supporting us.”
The makeover of the bowling alley includes a new scoring system and many tributes, including a table featuring pictures of the eight who died at Just-In-Time, and bowling pins with the names of the 18 shooting victims from both venues.
Among those killed were two bowling alley staff members. Most of the staff who survived are returning to work at the venue.
Samantha Juray said they are fully prepared to serve customers again and can’t wait to see the familiar faces of regulars as they get used to a new normal.
Among those planning to speak at a ceremony Friday afternoon is Maine's governor, Janet Mills, a Democrat.
“I’m excited about opening,” Juray said. “I know it’s definitely going to be a very long day, and probably an emotional day.”
Associated Press writer David Sharp in Portland, Maine, contributed to this report.
Justin Juray, owner of Just In Time Recreation, greets a customer during the reopening of the bowling alley six months after a deadly mass shooting, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Josh Roy bowls at Just In Time Recreation, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley, where eight people were killed in last October's mass shooting, reopened to the public on Friday. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Colin Robinson bowls at Just In Time Recreation during the reopening of the bowling alley six months after a deadly mass shooting, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A crowd of bowlers sign up for a lane during the reopening of Just In Time Recreation, six months after a deadly mass shooting, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Katie Nichols bowls at Just In Time Recreation during the reopening of the bowling alley six months after a deadly mass shooting, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Justin Juray, owner of Just In Time Recreation, hugs a customer during the reopening of the bowling alley six months after a deadly mass shooting, Friday, May 3, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The names of some of the 18 victims of last October's mass shooting are memorialized on bowling pins at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The names of the eight people murdered last October at Just In Time Recreation are posted at the bowling alley, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. A gunman also killed an additional 10 people at a local bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A sign of support is displayed at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A sign decorates a riverfront park, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The city was the scene of the state's deadliest mass shooting last October. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Bowler Ray St. Pierre walks through the newly-renovated Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3, seven months after the state's deadliest mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
League bowlers compete at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3, seven months after the state's deadliest mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A bowler takes aim at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3, seven months after the state's deadliest mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Lucas Mitchum inspects the gutters on a lane at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3, seven months after Maines deadliest mass shooting. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Last-minute decorations are installed prior to the reopening of Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Thomas Giberti describes the chaotic scene in which he saved several children by hustling them into the room that houses the pinsetting machines at a bowling alley, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. Giberti survived despite being was hit by numerous bullets and shrapnel. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Thomas Giberti shows one of the numerous places he was shot while saving the lives of several children during a mass shooting at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
A sign of positivity decorates the lawn at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley, where eight people were killed in last October's mass shooting, was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Photos of local scenes have been added to the decor at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley, where eight people were killed in last October's mass shooting, was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
The eight people who were killed last October while bowling at Just In Time Recreation are memorialized on a table top at the bowling alley, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Samantha Juray gets emotional while recalling the events of the mass shooting last October at the bowling alley she owns with her husband, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Justin Juray, right, owner of Just In Time Recreation, bumps fists with local bowler Moe St. Pierre, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley, where eight people were killed in last October's mass shooting, was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Bowling pins labeled for each of the 18 victims of the Oct. 25, 2023, mass shooting are displayed at Just In Time Recreation, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Lewiston, Maine. The bowling alley, where eight people were killed, was scheduled to reopen Friday, May 3. An additional 10 people were killed at nearby bar. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
