LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chappell Roan will induct Cyndi Lauper, Donald Glover will induct Outkast and Elton John will perform a tribute to the late Brian Wilson at Saturday’s induction ceremony for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock Hall of Fame generally stays quiet about the roles to be played by the long list of superstar guests announced for the show, but this week has brought a trickle of revelations about who’s paying tribute to which inductees.
The Rock Hall’s three-city rotation for the show brings it back to the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles this year, after previous ceremonies in New York and Cleveland.
It will stream live on Disney+ then become available on Hulu the following day, with a highlights special airing on ABC on Jan. 1.
Along with Lauper and Outkast, the inductees will be Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Soundgarden, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, The White Stripes, Carole Kaye, Nicky Hopkins, Lenny Waronker, Thom Bell and Warren Zevon.
Will the two duos that lit up the early 2000s, Outkast and The White Stripes, reunite? Outkast members Andre 3000 and Big Boi last performed together in 2016. Andre 3000 has said in recent years that he’s not interested in performing with the group or rapping at all, but Rock Hall ceremonies have a tendency to be the exception to such declarations.
White Stripes drummer Meg White has not performed with her ex-husband Jack White since 2011, and has led a very private life since. She could appear back at her drum kit or at least show up to accept the honor.
What are all the other special guests doing? David Letterman seems virtually certain to be inducting the late singer-songwriter Zevon. He was a friend and huge fan who constantly had Zevon as a guest on his show, including an emotional final appearance when the singer was dying of cancer. Jim Carrey similarly seems to be a likely inductor of Soundgarden, as a longtime devoted fan.
Other announced guests include Missy Elliott, Beck, Brandi Carlile, Doja Cat, Killer Mike, Questlove and Janelle Monáe.
Typically, someone with a connection to the artist gives an induction presentation, then the artist plays a few songs representative of their career, then gives their acceptance speech.
If the artist is dead, or a no-show, or can’t or doesn’t want to take the stage, someone performs their songs in tribute. The last time the show was in Los Angeles, Olivia Rodrigo — who will be taking part again this year — and Sara Bareilles were last-minute fill-ins for inductee Carly Simon, who lost sisters Lucy and Joanna to cancer days earlier.
If key members of a band have died, the surviving members often play with guests. When Nirvana was inducted in 2014, Joan Jett, St. Vincent and Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon stepped in as singers for the late Kurt Cobain.
The hall has announced that Avril Lavigne will take the stage with Lauper. The other announced guest musicians, who collectively play every instrument in the standard rock band arsenal, have left plenty of room for speculation.
Fans expect that Seattle music giants Soundgarden, whose frontman Chris Cornell died in 2017, will play with guests a la Nirvana. Several musicians with ties to the band and their scene have been revealed, including Nancy Wilson of Heart, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam and Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains. Singers in the mix include Rodrigo, Iggy Pop and Taylor Momsen.
Bad Company singer-songwriter Paul Rodgers said this week that his health will keep him from appearing, and founding guitarist Mick Ralphs died in June, so bassist Chris Kirke will play with guests. Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood and Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry are among the musicians appearing who could be part of a makeshift Bad Company.
Other deceased inductees whose songs someone will play include the legendarily growly singer Cocker, the session keyboard giant Hopkins, and Thom Bell, a producer who was a mastermind of Philadelphia soul.
Bassist Kaye, who played on countless hits of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s including many of Wilson’s Beach Boys songs, has said she won’t appear and has expressed scorn for the Rock Hall.
Seven of the nominees: Checker, Cocker, Lauper, Outkast, Bad Company, Soundgarden and the White Stripes, got in through the main entrance. A nominating committee put them up for a vote from more than 1,200 people that includes music industry figures and historians.
Others got in through a sort of side door. Committees grant them specific awards that circumvent the usual voting process, but they’re still considered full-fledged Hall-of-Famers. Kaye, Hopkins and Bell will receive the Musical Excellence Award. Salt-N-Pepa and Zevon will get the Musical Influence Award. And longtime Warner Bros. executive Lenny Waronker will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Artists become eligible for the hall 25 years after their first music release, but it can take much longer for the committee to put them up for a vote. Checker made “The Twist” a national phenomenon 65 years ago, but his election this year came for his first nomination. Cocker and Outkast were also first-time nominees. It was the second time Lauper and The White Stripes were on the ballot, and the third time for Soundgarden.
Checker and Waronker, both 84, are the oldest living inductees. The two members of the White Stripes and the two men of Outkast, all 50, are the youngest.
FILE - Elton John performs on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Sept. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Chappell Roan appears during the 67th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Feb. 2, 2025, left, and Cyndi Lauper appears at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York on Sept. 12, 2021. (AP Photo)
