Duran Duran trips, Dolly Parton rolls in Rock Hall

LOS ANGELES –

Lionel Richie rose. Pat Benatar yelled. Duran Duran stumbled but remained crafty. Eminem was Eminem.

The four acts found very different ways to celebrate on Saturday night, but all can now forever say they are Rock & Roll Hall of Famers. So did Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Harry Belafonte, Judas Priest and Dolly Parton, who enthusiastically embraced the honor after temporarily turning it down.

The first act to perform after a memorable speech by the balding Robert Downey Jr. at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Duran Duran took the stage and kicked off their 1981 breakthrough hit Girls on Film.

The screaming crowd was there for that, but the music wasn’t. Aside from vocalist Simon Le Bon, whose vocals were essentially acapella, the band was all but inaudible.

It was a fun, if awkward, start to a mostly smooth and often triumphant show.

“The wonderful spontaneous world of rock ‘n’ roll!” exclaimed Le Bon, 64, as the band stopped for a repeat.

They laid back at full volume and played a set that included “Hungry Like the Wolf” and “Ordinary World” and quickly returned to what Downey called their essential quality: “CSF – cool, sophisticated fun”.

Lionel Richie brought both chill and warmth into the room hours later, opening his set with a sparse performance of his ballad “Hello,” which seemed to almost break him at the moment’s momentum.

“His songs are the soundtrack of my life, your life, everyone’s life,” Lenny Kravitz said as he introduced Richie.

After “Hello”, Richie rushed to his hit with the Commodores “Easy” in 1977. The mood shifted from mellow to triumphant when Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl made a surprise appearance to play a guitar solo and swap vocals with Richie. That led to a celebratory sing-along performance of 1983’s “All Night Long,” which elicited the biggest reaction of the night.

In his acceptance speech, Richie lashed out at those who accused him of straying too far from his black roots throughout his career.

“Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a color,” he said. “It’s a feeling. It’s a mood. And if we let that vibe come through, this space will grow and grow and grow.”

Eurythmics next took the stage with a soulful, danceable rendition of 1986’s “Missionary Man.”

“Well, I was born an original sinner, I was born of original sin,” sang singer Annie Lennox, getting the audience clapping and standing four hours into the show. A rousing performance of their best-known hit “Sweet Dreams” followed.

Moments later, her musical partner Dave Stewart called Lennox “one of the greatest artists, singers and songwriters of all time.”

“Thanks Dave for this great adventure,” said a tearful Lennox.

As throughout his career, Eminem was the breakaway. He was the only hip-hop artist among those in the know, the only one whose heyday came after the 1980s, and he brought an edge to the evening absent outside of Judas Priest’s heavy metal stylings.

He also took the guest star game to another level. After opening briefly with “My Name Is” in 1999, he brought in Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler to sing the chorus of “Dream On” for 2003’s “Sing for the Moment,” which samples the Aerosmith classic. He then got Ed Sheeran to sing his part in the 2017 Eminem jam “River” when it rained on the stage.

“I probably shouldn’t be here tonight for a number of reasons,” said Eminem, who wore a black hoodie as he accepted the honor. “One I know is that I’m a rapper and this is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”

He is only the 10th hip-hop artist among well over 300 members of the Hall of Fame.

He was developed by his producer and mentor Dr. Dre, whom he credited with saving his life.

But the 1980s hitmakers made the night.

“Pat would always reach into the deepest part of herself and roar out of the speakers,” Sheryl Crowe said in her speech introducing Benatar.

Benatar, who was recorded alongside her longtime musical partner and husband Neil Giraldo, took the stage with him and showed that power moments later.

“We are young!” The 69-year-old sang, her long gray hair blowing as she soared through a 1983 version of “Love is a Battlefield.”

Those who did not attend the ceremony included Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor, who has been battling advanced prostate cancer for four years, Belafonte, 95, and Simon, who is joined by his sisters Joanna Simon and Lucy Simon, both also singers. has lost consecutive days to cancer.

Carly Simon was nominated for the first time this year, more than 25 years after becoming eligible. Olivia Rodrigo, 60 years Simon’s junior and by far the youngest performer of the night, then took the stage to sing Simon’s signature song “You’re So Vain”.

Appearing in a black suit with a huge mop of hair on her head, Janet Jackson redesigned the cover of her seminal album Control as she introduced the two men who made this and many other records with her, writers and producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

When the nominees were announced in May, Parton “respectfully” declined, saying it didn’t seem appropriate for her to take a place as a country-to-the-core artist. She was convinced of the opposite and ended up headlining on Saturday night.

“I’m a rock star now!” she exclaimed as she accepted the honor. “This is a very, very, very special night.”

Parton said she had to earn her spot retroactively.

She disappeared and emerged moments later in black leather with an electric guitar and broke into a song she had written just for the occasion.

“I’ve been rockin’ rockin’ rockin’ rockin’ since the day I was born,” she sang, “and I’ll rock ’til the day I’m gone.”

She ended the night with an all-star jam from her fellow contestants to her country classic “Jolene.” Le Bon, Benatar and even Judas Priest singer Rob Halford recorded a verse.

“We have a star-studded stage up here,” Parton said. “I feel like a hillbilly in the city.”