Seattle rockers Pearl Jam, the late rapper Tupac Shakur and 1970s hitmaking band Journey were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra and Yes were also part of the 2017 class inducted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, which kicked off with a tribute to Chuck Berry.

The new inductees closed the multi-hour event with a group performance, and before that Pearl Jam electrified with a performance of its well-known songs.

David Letterman inducted the band, and brought a small guitar and letter onstage that he said Vedder gave to his son days before his late-night show ended in 2015.

Letterman wasn’t the only fan in the room: As Vedder thanked his wife during his speech, one male fan from a seat up high screamed, “I love you, Eddie!”

“Shoot, honey, I thought you were sitting down in the front,” Vedder said to laughs.

His wife, Jill, was teary-eyed in the audience as fans continued to cheer.

Vedder also used his speech to discuss climate change, saying “climate change is real, that’s not fake news.” He also said his daughter Olivia was a big fan of Chance the Rapper, and thanked the Grammy-winning hip-hop star for his charitable contributions to Chicago.

Speaking of rappers, Shakur — who died in 1996 — was remembered by Snoop Dogg with a touching and playful speech.

Dogg, a former label mate and friend of Shakur, says he attended the event to make sure the rapper, actor and poet is remembered as a “strong black man that stood for his.”

Dogg, a marijuana enthusiast, also says it was Shakur who first gave him weed. “That’s right — Tupac got Snoop Dogg smoking blunts,” he said to laughs from the audience. Later, Alicia Keys performed a medley of Shakur’s songs on piano, including “Dear Mama” and “Changes.”

One of the night’s most anticipated performances was Journey’s. But despite earlier reports, Steve Perry did not perform with the current Journey members. Instead, Arnel Pineda sang lead as the band performed their hits, including “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Perry, estranged from the band for many years, did embrace guitarist and co-founder Neal Schon onstage.

“You’re the one who put us here,” Perry said to the Journey fans, earning one of the night’s loudest applauses. “I’ve been gone a long time but you’ve never not been in my heart.”

Like Shakur and Pearl Jam, Baez and ELO were all elected in their first year as nominees.

Baez, one of folk’s most iconic voices, said it felt “cool” to be inducted. She also said earning the Rock Hall honor would help young people learn who she is, and what she’s accomplished.

“My granddaughter had no clue who I was until I took her backstage to a Taylor Swift concert,” said Baez, who added that her granddaughter took a selfie with Swift and now had “newfound respect for her grandmother.”

She was inducted by Jackson Browne, who said the first album he bought with his own money was Baez’s second album.

ELO — who kicked off the show with Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” — and progressive British rockers Yes were also inducted Friday.

“It was 49 years ago tonight I met Chris Squire at a bar,” singer Jon Anderson said of the band’s founding bass player who died in 2015. “Magic moment.”

Berry wasn’t the only late legend who was honored: Lenny Kravitz paid tribute to Prince after the “In Memoriam” section with an explosive performance of “When Doves Cry,” backed by a choir and beaming purple lights.

Pharrell said kind words about Nile Rodgers, who received a special honor at the event, which will air April 29 as a special on HBO.

To be eligible, all of the nominees had to have released their first recording no later than 1991. Inductees will eventually be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland.</s>Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey and Yes will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night. Presenters inducting the 2017 class include David Letterman, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Dhani Harrison, Pat Monahan, Jackson Browne and Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Start the conversation, or Read more at SooToday.</s>NEW YORK (AP) — Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey and Yes will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Nile Rodgers will receive a special honor at the event held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Presenters inducting the 2017 class include David Letterman, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Dhani Harrison, Pat Monahan, Jackson Browne and Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Shakur, the prolific rapper, was shot and killed at his peak in 1996. “Keep Ya Head Up,” ”Life Goes On,” ”Ambitionz Az a Ridah” and “Changes” are among his best-known songs.

After Nirvana just three years ago, Pearl Jam is the second band with roots in Seattle’s grunge rock scene to make it into the Rock Hall. The band exploded in popularity from the start in the early 1990s behind songs like “Alive,” ”Jeremy” and “Even Flow.”

Shakur, Baez, Pearl Jam and ELO were all elected in their first year as nominees.

To be eligible, all of the nominees had to have released their first recording no later than 1991. Inductees will eventually be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland.</s>Inductee Joan Baez performs at the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Presenter David Letterman speaks onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Inductees Neal Schon, left, and Steve Perry from the band Journey embrace at the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Inductee Rick Wakeman of YES poses at the 31st Annual Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 07: 2017 inductee Nile Rodgers speaks onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Arnel Pineda performs with 2017 Inductee Journey onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. Debuting on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

2017 inductee Steve Perry of Journey speaks onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Recording artist Alicia Keys performs 2017 Tupac Shakur onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Presenter Snoop Dogg speaks about 2017 Inductee Tupac Shakur onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. Debuting on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

2017 Inductee Trevor Rabin of Yes performs onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Inductee Jon Anderson from the band Yes, left, and Geddy Lee from the band Rush perform at the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

2017 Inductee Jeff Lynne (L) of ELO performs onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

2017 Inductee Joan Baez speaks onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Inductee Jeff Lynne from the band ELO appears at the 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Inductee Steve Howe of Yes performs onstage at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center on April 7, 2017 in New York City. The event will broadcast on HBO Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 8:00 pm ET/PT (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)

Inductee Eddie Vedder from the band Pearl Jam performs at the 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 7, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK — Seattle rockers Pearl Jam, the late rapper Tupac Shakur and 1970s hitmaking band Journey were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra and Yes were also part of the 2017 class inducted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., which kicked off with a tribute to Chuck Berry.

The new inductees closed the multi-hour event with a group performance, and before that Pearl Jam electrified with a performance of its well-known songs.

David Letterman inducted the band, and brought a small guitar and letter onstage that he said Vedder gave to his son days before his late-night show ended in 2015.

Letterman wasn’t the only fan in the room: As Vedder thanked his wife during his speech, one male fan from a seat up high screamed, “I love you, Eddie!”

“Shoot, honey, I thought you were sitting down in the front,” Vedder said to laughs.

His wife, Jill, was teary-eyed in the audience as fans continued to cheer.

Vedder also used his speech to discuss climate change, saying “climate change is real, that’s not fake news.” He also said his daughter Olivia was a big fan of Chance the Rapper, and thanked the Grammy-winning hip-hop star for his charitable contributions to Chicago.

Speaking of rappers, Shakur — who died in 1996 — was remembered by Snoop Dogg with a touching and playful speech.

Dogg, a former label mate and friend of Shakur, says he attended the event to make sure the rapper, actor and poet is remembered as a “strong black man that stood for his.”

Dogg, a marijuana enthusiast, also says it was Shakur who first gave him weed. “That’s right — Tupac got Snoop Dogg smoking blunts,” he said to laughs from the audience. Later, Alicia Keys performed a medley of Shakur’s songs on piano, including Dear Mama and Changes.

One of the night’s most anticipated performances was Journey’s. But despite earlier reports, Steve Perry did not perform with the current Journey members. Instead, Arnel Pineda sang lead as the band performed their hits, including Don’t Stop Believin’.

Perry, estranged from the band for many years, did embrace guitarist and co-founder Neal Schon onstage.

“You’re the one who put us here,” Perry said to the Journey fans, earning one of the night’s loudest applauses. “I’ve been gone a long time but you’ve never not been in my heart.”

Like Shakur and Pearl Jam, Baez and ELO were all elected in their first year as nominees.

Baez, one of folk’s most iconic voices, said it felt “cool” to be inducted. She also said earning the Rock Hall honour would help young people learn who she is, and what she’s accomplished.

“My granddaughter had no clue who I was until I took her backstage to a Taylor Swift concert,” said Baez, who added that her granddaughter took a selfie with Swift and now had “newfound respect for her grandmother.”

She was inducted by Jackson Browne, who said the first album he bought with his own money was Baez’s second album.

ELO — who kicked off the show with Berry’s Roll Over Beethoven — and progressive British rockers Yes were also inducted Friday.

“It was 49 years ago tonight I met Chris Squire at a bar,” singer Jon Anderson said of the band’s founding bass player who died in 2015. “Magic moment.”

Berry wasn’t the only late legend who was honoured: Lenny Kravitz paid tribute to Prince after the “In Memoriam” section with an explosive performance of When Doves Cry, backed by a choir and beaming purple lights.

Pharrell said kind words about Nile Rodgers, who received a special honour at the event, which will air April 29 as a special on HBO.

To be eligible, all of the nominees had to have released their first recording no later than 1991. Inductees will eventually be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland.</s>The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: it seems that everyone’s got an opinion about it. So, on the day of this year’s induction ceremony – Pearl Jam, Yes, Tupac Shakur, Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez and Nile Rodgers will be honored – we decided to talk to some of our experts from the CBS Radio family.

Carter Alan is the Assistant Program Director and Music Director of Boston classic rock station WZLX, and has just published his fourth book, The Decibel Diaries. Michael Stanley is a DJ at Cleveland’s WNCX and has released a number of albums with the Michael Stanley Band.

Pearl Jam is being inducted in their first year of eligibility, which only happens with the hugest artists, like Bruce Springsteen, Prince, Madonna and U2. And they’re leapfrogging over a number of older classic rock acts (and a few alternative artists as well). Why do you think they were voted in so quickly?

Carter Alan: It has to do with the band’s important contribution to the evolution of rock; not just making money off it, but changing its course.

Michael Stanley: Pearl Jam has never been a personal favorite and my take has always been the same for them as it was for Guns N Roses; loved the band, didn’t dig the singer. But I am obviously in the minority.

Yes has been a staple of classic rock radio, and they’ve been eligible since the ’90s. Do you feel they deserve induction after all these years?

CA: Yes were so important in the 70’s – they were the most successful progressive band out there. They took unbelievable risks — like the double album Tales from Topographic Oceans, which had just four songs — each one was one full side. Then they reinvented themselves in the MTV era with “Owner of a Lonely Heart” and 90125. That makes them worthy, even if people can’t feel the band’s presence as much in pop culture these days. This has been long overdue!

Ms: I always respected Yes more than liked them. We did a few shows with them over the years and they were a really good live band and those aren’t easy tunes to play. They were definite trendsetters in progressive rock. Unfortunately for them, this was a genre that has never seemed to have much love shown it by the voting members. But as far as being influential is concerned they certainly were more meaningful than quite a few folks inducted over the past few years.

What did you think when they put out 90125 in ’83?

CA: I loved it. I remember listening to the 12″ single and thought it sounded like the Police or something. Took it down the hall to [program director] Oedipus – who hated Yes, and he loved it! We started playing it immediately.

Do you think the two Yes factions — Yes (featuring Steve Howe and Alan White) and Anderson Rabin Wakeman — will get together to play, and will it lead to a reunion?

CA: I think doing that at the ceremony would be appropriate. I don’t know about a tour – remember “Union?” I saw both AWR and Yes this last time around and enjoyed both, although keyboardist Geoff Downes, as good as he is, pales next to Rick Wakeman.

Journey were the prototypical example of a group that radio loves, and that music critics hate. And of course, Little Steven is on the nominating committee, and he famously had a huge fight to prevent “Don’t Stop Believin'” from being used in the last Sopranos scene.

CA: The audience adores them. We did a benefit auction over the weekend; people bid more for Journey tickets than Tom Petty! Journey has translated to a wide range of audience taste and demographics. It’s just difficult for older generations to accept, I think.

Critics can ignore a hugely successful commercial band’s worthiness because of the brightness of all that platinum. So, bands like Journey get the sales, but no critical love.

MS: Look, the essential folks were all voted in long ago and because now the whole process is driven by having to come up with a marketable show for HBO. Journey was a good band that knew how to write hit singles and back ’em up live. But do they belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? No…but since the “standards” have become highly fluid they deserve induction as much as, and maybe more than, marginal acts such as the Pretenders, R.E.M., Percy Sledge, The Lovin’ Spoonful, Donovan, the Dells, Patti Smith, etc…I’m not saying those are bad acts (in fact I like a lot of them) but a Hall Of Fame should be made up of an elite roster. But that ship done sailed and we can’t be all that far from an REO Speedwagon induction.

Carter, which Journey era do you prefer: Gregg Rolie or Jonathan Cain? Cain’s arrival really seemed to change their sound in a big way.

CA: As a card-carrying Santana freak, I preferred the earlier days and Rolie’s big presence.

How do you feel about Electric Light Orchestra being inducted?

MS: Once again, they need a TV show for HBO and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is far more important to us “boomers” than to anyone else. Love ’em or hate ’em (and I like them a lot) ELO took Jeff Lynne’s “Revolver”/”Strawberry Fields” fixation and turned it into a serious hit machine that made cool-sounding records…and they were another band who could back it up live!

Related: Why the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Now Embraces Classic Rock Favorites

It’s interesting that ELO got in as a band, but Nile Rodgers was pushed in under the “Award for Musical Excellence” thing, and Chic didn’t get in. Nile Rodgers and ELO’s Jeff Lynne both came from huge bands, and went on to produce even huger bands. But the “disco” thing still sticks to Chic (even though Donna Summer has been inducted)

CA: Chic is worthy of induction, I agree. ELO has had such a sugary ’70s dance sound and got in. Why? It has to be the many ELO hits plus Jeff Lynne’s enormous cred from being in the Traveling Wilburys and working with the Beatles.

Chic could have been inducted (they didn’t have as many hits as ELO, but their hits made a bigger impact) and Jeff Lynne inducted on his own – since working with the Beatles is obviously a huge deal. But what was ELO’s big contribution, how have they influenced music?

CA: They innovated that string sound into mainstream rock from their first album onward. It was a very different thing to be incorporating classical music instruments and sounds directly in the rock music, unlike Yes, which used classic music forms but still exercised as a five-piece rock band. Lynne brought that “big” sound into his production career as well.

Any thoughts on Joan Baez? It’s weird: she’s been eligible since the first year they’ve been doing inductions, and she’s never been on the ballot before.

MS: What took so long? Is Joan Baez’s name among the first two hundred (or 500) that roll off your tongue when rock and roll is the subject? I rather doubt it…but she was a pioneer in the folk/protest singer boom, had a beautiful voice, and was loaded with the rock and roll attitude of speaking truth to power. In my early folk singer days I was a huge fan but if she hadn’t have gotten in (or even have been on the nomination list) it wouldn’t have bothered or surprised me in the least…and I don’t think it would have bothered her either.

CA: I saw her once do a concert in the Boston Commons and she did “Amazing Grace” acapella – the sound of her voice bouncing off the downtown buildings is something I’ll never forget.

So who should be inducted next year?

CA: The J. Geils Band, the Cars, Soundgarden, Emerson Lake and Palmer.

MS: Once they have started to put Kraftwerk, the MC5, and Bad Brains on the ballot does it really matter?

I’m not one who believes that sales are needed to be voted in, nor should lack of sales necessarily keep someone out. I’d just like to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters be more selective and not cheapen entrance to the hall. Diversity is great but the Hall shouldn’t be run on a quota system, And who should be on the ballot next year? At the risk of being called a “homer,” how about The James Gang? They made some great records and were one of the original and seminal power trios. “Funk # 49” was far more influential to the rock world than “Autobahn” or “Kick Out The Jams”…just a thought!</s>Steve Perry will not perform with his former band Journey during their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction on Friday.

Fans of the American rock group were excited after multiple rumors indicated they would be joined by their former vocalist for the first time in more than a quarter of a century.

But just hours before the ceremony, Entertainment Weekly reported the band's rep had shot down the story.

'We have just spoken with Steve Perry’s manager and he confirmed to us that he will NOT be performing tonight,' the said.

The 68-year-old will be at the ceremony however, although his role remains unclear.

His former bandmates has claimed he will appear with them on stage during the induction ceremony.

The last time he sang with them was at a Bill Graham tribute concert in November of 1991

Also being inducted on Tuesday are Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra and Yes.

Nile Rodgers will receive a special honor at the event held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Presenters inducting the 2017 class include David Letterman, Snoop Dogg, Pharrell Williams, Dhani Harrison, Pat Monahan, Jackson Browne and Alex Lifeson of Rush.

Shakur, the prolific rapper, was shot and killed at his peak in 1996. Keep Ya Head Up, Life Goes On, Ambitionz Az a Ridah and Changes are among his best-known songs.

After Nirvana just three years ago, Pearl Jam is the second band with roots in Seattle's grunge rock scene to make it into the Rock Hall. The band exploded in popularity from the start in the early 1990s behind songs like Alive, Jeremy and Even Flow.

Shakur, Baez, Pearl Jam and ELO were all elected in their first year as nominees.

To be eligible, all of the nominees had to have released their first recording no later than 1991. Inductees will eventually be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland.</s>NEW YORK — The Latest on inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (all times local):

Chuck Berry was the first artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he is the first to be at the Hall's 32nd annual ceremony.

Electric Light Orchestra Berry, who died last month, with an electrifying performance of "Roll Over Beethoven" at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday.

Before that, a video played featuring past interviews with Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards and others discussing Berry's sound and style. Jann Wenner, whose speech opened the show, said of Berry, "no one would be in this room if it wasn't for this man."

Wenner also named each of the inductees and discussed their success, and the audience erupted loudly after he called out Pearl Jam. Most of the crowd stood on its feet and clapped for minutes, as the camera panned to Eddie Vedder.

Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Joan Baez, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey and Yes will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.

Nile Rodgers will receive a special at the event held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

To be eligible, all of the nominees had to have released their first recording no later than 1991. Inductees will eventually be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland.</s>Over the years, some have made the complaint that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is too long. That seems to be ludicrous: how do you honor five or six acts, allow their members to make acceptance speeches and perform in one concert and not have it take a long time?

In years past, certain segments of the show seem to drag, and since the show has gone from a private affair held in the Waldorf Astoria to a ticketed event at arenas, there’s the issue of keeping the audience interested.

None of those issues seemed to come up last night, at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 32nd Annual induction ceremony, held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In fact, the show somehow felt like it was too short, even though it extended past four hours.

For example, even though there was a brief Chuck Berry tribute film (and Electric Light Orchestra played their version of Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven”), it felt like the man warranted something more at the ceremony.

It was even more disappointing that there was no performance paying tribute to Award for Musical Excellence recipient Nile Rodgers’ career. And a four song Pearl Jam set seems way too short, even for a show like this one; Pearl Jam’s fans seemed to comprise over half the crowd (they’ve sold out this very arena multiple times over the years), and they surely wanted more.

But one of the amazing things about last night’s induction ceremony was that, no matter what artist sold the most tickets, every segment of the show got enthusiastic responses. Whereas in past years the lack of energy for certain acts was palpable, this year, everyone in the audience seemed excited to see everyone on stage. Well, almost everyone on the stage.

As always, Rolling Stone publisher and Rock Hall co-founder Jann Wenner introduced all the inductees to start off the night. Fairly or not, he’s often blamed by fans of specific bands for preventing their induction. The was certainly the case in 2013 for Rush’s induction; the band never got a lot of love from Rolling Stone magazine and that year, when he took the stage, the Canadian trio’s fans enthusiastically booed. There were audible boos in the audience tonight, likely coming from fans of another prog-rock band Yes (who share fans with Rush, and were in fact presented by two of Rush’s three members), as well as Journey’s fans.

But after he announced all of the other inductees — Journey, Yes, Tupac Shakur, Nile Rodgers, Electric Light Orchestra and Joan Baez, he said, “…and finally…” to introduce Pearl Jam, there was a roaring, standing ovation. Pearl Jam’s dominance of the zeitgeist and radio playlists may be decades behind in their collective rear view mirrors, but their fanbase seems as amped up by the band as they were in 1991.

Wenner’s most impassioned intro, though, was for Chuck Berry and rightfully so. If you were alive when Berry made his impact, surely little else that happened since compares. During the Berry mini-documentary, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Keith Richards enthused about the man’s impact, while footage of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix covering his songs were shown..”

Soon after that, Jeff Lynne led Electric Light Orchestra through their cover of Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven”; their version features their patented combination of rock and roll with classical music, played by electric guitar and a trio of cellists, making the point that rock and roll music can find inspiration anywhere, a notion that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes seriously, evidence of which was seen throughout the night. They followed with “Evil Woman” and, of course, “Mr. Blue Sky.” The 12 person band was able to perfectly replicate the sounds of their highly produced records.

Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison, presented ELO. “Jeff was one of my father’s dearest friends,” he said. “It was March of 1986 when I had my ‘First encounter of the ELO kind.'” That was when his father, he recalled, took him to see ELO in concert. This was my first big rock show. “I was seven and a half; it was more like seeing a 21st century extra-terrestrial. I sat in silent astonishment watching them. They reminded me of the Star Wars cantina band, but with more hair.”

He said when George joined them onstage, it was the first time he’d seen him perform in public. “They played ‘Roll Over Beethoven’ like in Back to the Future” – at which point, the cameras went to Michael J. Fox sitting the in the audience, who got a huge applause.

Years later, he said that he became friends with Jeff Lynne (the two of them co-produced the final George Harrison album, 2002’s Brainwashed, which they completed after the Beatle’s passing). “Seeing those beautiful blue eyes peeking over those glasses have helped me get over some of the most difficult times in my life, and for that, I thank you. ”

He saw some of their reunion concerts in L.A., which happened to have taken place after the presidential election.

“Trust me, everyone in L.A. were looking at the [ELO] spaceships saying, ‘Take me with you!'” It was not the first polticized moment of the night.

“Everything comes to him what waits!” Lynne said. “My mother didn’t really want me to do music at all, she thought it was all drugs and booze.”

He recalled telling his mother, when she tried to wake him up the morning after his first professional gig, “‘Mum, I’m a professional musician, and I never have to get up early ever again.’ It took 30 years for her to get used to it.” He was there, along with the band’s co-founder, Roy Wood, who left the band after thier debut album (he didn’t perform, however). The band’s two other members to be inducted, Richard Tandy (who is still in the band) and Bev Bevan, weren’t present.

Jackson Browne then took the stage to speak about Joan Baez. None of the progressive movements of the ’60s could be separated from the folk music of that era, he said, stressing that Baez’s influence went far beyond music. “We weren’t just listening to it, we were learning to sing and play these [protest] songs about the struggles and hardships of these people who came to this country as immigrants, and as slaves.”

“The first record I ever bought with my own money was Joan Baez’s second album, I was 14,” he recalled. He went to the record store and listened to it in the listening booth. “By the third song I was completely mesmerized,” he said, referring to “Lily of the West.”

Her influence was titanic: Browne pointed out that it was Joan Baez who first gave Bob Dylan a national audience. On a more personal level she turned Browne and his friends on to the idea of protesting. “We joined hands and we sang and we demonstrated and we started writing songs. When I saw that Joan was marching with Martin Luther King, I felt that I was represented there. They were marching for – to paraphrase Langston Hughes, ‘The America is not yet, but yet must be.'”

“There’s no way to quantify the importance of hearing her sing ‘We Shall Overcome.’ When I hear it now, I’m overcome with deep sadness… we need [that song] even more now. The injustices we opposed then, we still need to oppose now,” a line that got a good amount of applause.

Baez, clearly moved, said, “It gives me great honor to accept this very cool award, and thanks to the Hall of Fame for this somewhat unlikely honor. I’m aware I’m speaking to many young people, who, without this induction, would have no clue who I am. My granddaughter had no idea who I was. Until I took her backstage at a Taylor Swift concert where she got a selfie!”

A charismatic and funny speaker, she was also serious: “No one can overlook the role of folk music in rock and roll, and neither can anyone deny my role in it.”

She spoke about non-violence in her personal life and as a way of social change, and of her advocacy for the less fortunate. “I met and tried to walk in the shoes of those who are hungry, thirsty and cast out, who now live in hopelessness and despair. The excluded and the bullied, who fought for this country, and now live in the shadows of rejection, people of color, the old, the ill, the LGBT community, and now in the new reality, there’s much work to be done. Let us double, triple and quadruple our efforts to empathize and give more of ourselves.”

The line “Let us repeal and replace brutality!” got a great reaction from the crowd. Whether or not the majority of the audience own much of her discography, they respected her and loved her message.

“We the people must speak truth to power. I’m ready, I hope you are too. I want my granddaughter to know I fought against an evil tide.”

She then took her acoustic guitar and sang, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” changing the lyrics slightly: “They’re coming to carry me, to carry you — to even carry Donald — home!”

She was then joined by the Indigo Girls and Mary Chapin-Carpenter for “Deportee,” a song about Mexican immigrants, followed by her cover of the Band’s “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.”

After that, it was time for Yes. It was odd that Rush — a band of Yes disciples — was inducted four years before the British prog-rockers. But last night felt like progressive rock fantasy football: there’s no other band you’d rather have paying tribute to Yes. In fact, as opposed to at Rush’s induction, Alex Lifeson used actual English words in his speech (no one will ever forget his immortal “Blah blah blah” speech).

“We all start somewhere, and my journey with Yes started when I was a teenager,” Alex Lifeson of Rush said. “I may have smoked a cigarette…or something. I spent hours picking my way through songs like ‘Starship Trooper’ and ‘Yours is No Disgrace.’ I must have played ‘Starship Trooper’ a million times. Yes helped give me the gift of music, which is everything, as you know.”

“The musical choices we make in our youth, helps to determine who we become. So choose Chris Squire’s amazing bass tone,” he said, turning to his bandmate, asking “Right, Ged?”

“Choose Jon Anderson’s ethereal vocals. Choose Fragile. Choose ‘Roundabout.’ Choose the glorious guitar work in ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart.’ And definitely, choose Yes.”

Lee added, “Blah blah blah,” but then shared his story. “I’d like to ask if the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would indulge me.” He talked about a friend who turned him on to Yes.

“Time and a Word – I still thrill to the bass part of ‘No Opportunity Necessary, No Experience Needed.’ Later Oscar played me ‘Yours is No Disgrace’ and ‘I’ve Seen All Good People.’ Through Yes, I was tuning into a wider world of possibilities.

He recalled seeing his first Yes concert. “It was like nothing I experienced before, it was profound. It changed the way I played music forever.”

Former singer and the band’s co-founder Jon Anderson discussed the significance of the induction falling on April 7. “It’s 49 years ago tonight that I met Chris Squire at a bar,” he recalled. “It was a magic moment. He was so tall, I couldn’t believe it. We had a guitarist called Peter Banks. We had a drummer called Bill Bruford. Chris is in heaven, but him and Peter are here with us tonight.”

It was a night of wildly divergent style: Snoop Dogg then took the stage: “I can’t believe it’s been 21 years since we actually got to hear Tupac, not the one clip on YouTube, not the hologram, Tupac Amaru Shakur the human being. Twenty-one years ago, Tupac Shakur was taken from all of us. ” Snoop was somber, but his speech also was joyful and filled with pride and humor.

He recalled meeting ‘Pac at a 1993 party: “And on that night, Pac passed me my first blunt. That’s right, Tupac is the one that got Snoop Dogg smoking weed… We became very good friends quickly thereafter.”

“I never shared this story before,” he said. “But it really speaks to our journey. I had just beat my case and Suge had taken us to South America… me and Pac was parasailing. You heard right. Snoop Dogg and Tupac parasailing together. Does anybody know what parasailing is? Because we damn sure didn’t! Me and ‘Pac were sitting on the edge of the boat with all this gear and s— on and all of sudden the boat pulls away and we start floating and slammed up into the water like, ‘Boom!’ I don’t know what was in there. Sharks, or octopus or whatever, I’m like, ‘Man!’ It was crazy because not only did we think we’re on top of the world; at that time we actually were on top of the world!”

What followed was one of the best tributes that the Hall of Fame has ever orchestrated: it began with Alicia Keys playing a medley, including “I Get Around,” “I Ain’t Mad At Ya,” “Dear Mama” and “Changes.” Then, Snoop returned to the stage with YG for “2 of Americaz Most Wanted.” Treach from Naughty By Nature did “Hail Mary,” and then T.I. performed “Keep Ya Head Up.” The idea of a huge hip-hop tribute in the middle of a show mostly dedicated to boomer-era rock and folk music could be risky, but the audience met each new performer to the stage with roars of approval.

Read More: Snoop Dogg, YG, Treach, Alicia Keys and T.I. Pay Tribute to Tupac at Rock Hall Induction

After that, it was time for Journey, and anticipation was high: even hours before the show, no one seemed to know if their former singer, Steve Perry would join the band onstage.

Train’s Pat Monahan – whom we spoke to about Journey a few weeks ago – made an impassioned speech about the group:

“I’m just a kid from western Pennsylvania,” he said. “I moved to San Francisco because of the song ‘Lights,’ it made me think I could be something. They weren’t afraid to be romantic and hold women in high esteem; they weren’t afraid to do songs to make you feel good. I don’t believe in ‘guilty pleasures,’ you either like something or you don’t and I’ve loved this band my whole life!” The crowd was roaring as he finished his speech.

Neal Schon, clearly moved, said: “This is a long time coming, I thought this would never happen. This is all about you, the fans.”

He looked behind him at his former bandmate and smiled, warmly, “Steve Perry, you’re a one of a kind!” The vibe between the two, despite all of the drama, seemed genial.

Former keyboardist/singer Gregg Rolie said, “I want to thank Neal Schon for calling me and saving me from the restaurant business to start Journey,” he said, referencing the career path he almost took after he and Schon quit Santana in the early ’70s. “I want to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for inducting this band, finally. This is really about the fans.”

Jonathan Cain thanked the Cubs for winning the World Series — the cameras panned to Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, a noted Cubs fan, in the audience. Cain also thanked his dad for saying “Don’t stop believin’” to him when things got rough, thereby inspiring the band’s most famous song.

And then, Steve Perry grabbed the mic.

“Hello, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! You sure look good to me tonight!” speaking as if he was about to perform; surely the entire arena wished that that was going to happen. He recalled being a Journey fan before he joined. “I would always go to see Journey perform, I watched with amazement, their musicianship was par to none. There was one instrument that flew above, that was the magic guitar of Neal Schon.” Schon, who clearly wanted to perform with the singer, looked moved.

Perry spoke warmly about his other former bandmates, and then the man who replaced him, Journey’s current lead singer. “I must give a shout out to a man who sings his heart out every night, Arnel Pineda.” Pineda, in the audience, was surely moved as well.

He even thanked the people who used to run Journey’s fan club. “Speaking of fans….” he said, as the audience roared.

“Speaking of fans! You’re the ones who put us here. You’re the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! From my heart, I must tell you, I’ve been gone a long time, you’ve never not been in my heart. Thank you so very much.” It seemed that he hasn’t lost his love for, or his talent for, addressing an arena filled with screaming people. But it was disappointing that he chose not to sing to them.

And with that, he left the stage; leaving the current band, with Pineda, to perform without him. They started with “Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).”

Schon then introduced some former members of the band – drummer Ansley Dunbar and Gregg Rolie, but not Perry — for “Lights.” He dedicated it to Steve Perry. They closed with “Don’t Stop Believin’,” a song that lit up the Barclays Center. Pineda did a great job with the song, and the others — as he does every night Journey performs — but fans were clearly bummed that Perry didn’t join them. And were confused as well: why wouldn’t he want to perform those songs, one more time.

Read More: Journey Reunites with Steve Perry… for Rock Hall Speeches

Pharrell Williams then took the podium, and talked about his first time working with Nile Rodgers. He recalled working with “the robots” – Daft Punk — and he recalled telling them that he was in a “Nile Rodgers place,” and then they played him the “Get Lucky” demo. “It was the first time I worked with Nile physically, but spiritually, he’s been in the studio with me for 25 years.”

He cited his work with Chic, Bowie and Madonna. “Nile never needed to upstage anyone, he was always about the artist first. But not tonight, Nile, not tonight.”

“Tonight we honor you for staying true to your mantra for 40 years,” referencing the Chic song “Dance Dance Dance.” “You have moved and rocked so many generations, for more than 40 years you’ve always been the coolest guy in the room.”

Rodgers, whose induction was somewhat controversial — he’d wanted to be inducted as a member of Chic, who didn’t get voted in. But regardless of that, he was clearly moved. “I was hoping to get just one hit record. They just told me a couple of months ago that I’ve sold 300 million records and 75 million singles. I just wanted one hit single!”

He said that when he produces an artist, he’s not their “boss”; instead, he’s joining their band. “This award is because of all the people who have let me join their band,” naming Mick Jagger, Sister Sledge, David Bowie, Madonna, Daft Punk.

The “In Memoriam” segment followed, ending with Lenny Kravitz, accompanied by a huge choir, doing a radically different version of Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” which was followed by an excerpt of “The Cross” from 1987’s Sign O The Times.

And then, it was time for Pearl Jam.

“I can’t begin to tell you what an honor and a privilege it is for me to be out of the house,” presenter David Letterman said. His speech would veer between his usual sense of humor and some really earnest moments, including where, at one point, he called for the Hall of Fame to induct his friend Warren Zevon. “I know Neil Young was supposed to be here. People are asking why – the truth is that he can’t stay up this late.”

“For 33 years, every night I got to experience the gift and the blessing of live music. When I got here, I remembered: ‘Oh my God, what a gift live music is.”

“I first met most of the people involved in Pearl Jam, they were in a band called Mother Love Bone. And then in 1991 things in the musical culture changed with an album called Ten. it had anger to it, and it appealed to 20-something people who felt left out. I was almost 50 and even I felt pissed off! It was easy to dance to, but that’s another story…”

“They were something more than a band. they were a true living cultural organism. They would recognize injustice and they would stand up to it. They would stand up and react. In 1994, these gentlemen risked their careers by going after those beady eyed blood thirsty weasels at Ticketmaster…”

“And because they did, I’m happy to say that today every concert ticket in the U.S.A. is free!” He soon joked that one of the balconies at Barclays was filled with former Pearl Jam drummers.

He listed many of their classics: “Jeremy,” “Rearviewmirror,” “Sirens,” “Given to Fly,” “Yellow Ledbetter,” marveling that the latter didn’t make Ten. “They have too much good material, they decide we don’t want to put this song on there, so later it’s released as a b-side. 25 years later, it’s an anthem. For a lot of people that song would be a career!”

“They were on my show ten times, every time they were there, they would blow the roof off the pace. I’m not talking figuratively: for two years I did a show without a goddamn roof on the theater!”

“You know the song ‘Black?’ There was a period in my life where I couldn’t stop singing ‘Do do do do do do do!’ How many times does this refrain occur in the song? I had to go to a hypnotist!”

He recalled singing that refrain on his show frequently. “One day, I’m doing the show and the door bursts open and in comes Eddie Vedder. he looked me in the eye and said, ‘Stop doing that.’ And I was cured, ladies and genetlmen!”

“I had three shows left to go and Eddie Vedder was on that show, and he sang ‘Better Man,’ I liked to tell myself it was because it rhymed with ‘Letterman.’ At the end if the show Eddie Vedder came up to me and handed me this,” pointing to an acoustic guitar, with his son Harry’s name on it.

“He gave me a letter for my son,” as the monitor showed a photo of young Harry smoking a cigarette as the audience laughed. “We’ve had him to all the best clinics!” Dave hasn’t lost his touch.

But he then got serious: “If there was a club for cynicism, I’d be the president… except for things like this!” He read the letter in which Vedder told Harry that if he learned to play one song on the guitar, he’d get him a new one.

He then introduced the band, and Stone Gossard took the mic, saying, “Maybe the most important reason to be here tonight is to honor the people who work so hard to make this band flourish and function. This award is as much for you as it is for us.” He then thanked many of the people who have worked, behind the scenes, for the band, thanking most of them only by their first name.

Former drummer Dave Krusen said, “Pearl Jam saved my life.”

Matt Cameron thanked his brother and sister, who took him to his first concert: David Bowie’s Station to Station tour. He thanked his “brothers” in Pearl Jam, and in his other band, Soundgarden (another glaring omission from the Rock Hall, by the way).

Mike McCready recalled being a Boy Scout in 1976 when a friend told him about KISS, changing his life. He thanked his first band, Shadow, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers for taking Pearl Jam out on an early tour.

Jeff Ament lamented that many of the band’s influences – including Roxy Music and Jane’s Addiction, hadn’t been inducted yet (and we agree).

Eddie Vedder — in a speech that will surely make conservatives groan — talked about global warming. “We’ve got a lot of evolving to do, it’s evolution baby. Climate change is real. That is not fake news, and we can not be the generation that history will look back up on, and ask why didn’t we do everything humanly possible to solve this crisis.”

“Anything is obtainable: the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series is proof. But we don’t have 108 years.”

Moving on to himself, he said, “Lucky and grateful are two things I am every day. I want to publicly apologize for making my bandmates suffer for the singer who was climbing on the rafters and hanging off of pipes,” referring to his dangerous onstage antics in the band’s early days. “They didn’t deserve that. They didn’t know that their singer was really an Evel Knievel. It was the power of music.”

He thanked his family and said, “If somehow Chance the Rapper sees this, I want to tell you my daughter Olivia loves you. Thanks for the great work you’re doing in Chicago!”

He thanked former drummer Jack Irons: “I was working as a crew guy at a Joe Strummer gig, I got to meet Jack; without him, none of this would have happened. Jack, thanks so much. Thanks for your friendship and you were a great drummer for our group.”

“We had a few drummers, they were all kings, every one of them was great, but Matt Cameron kept us alive for the past 15, 16, 17 years, when we weren’t sure what was gonna happen, he helped us not just to survive and to thrive,” noting that he’ll probably be inducted again, with Soundgarden.

“I love these people so much. I feel like we’re halfway there to deserve this, but this is very encouraging.”

They then performed “Alive,” with Dave Krusen on drums, their first performance with their original drummer since 1991. Then Matt Cameron replaced him for “Given To Fly,” which Vedder dedicated to Michael J. Fox, who wrote about how the song inspired him in his memoirs. That was followed by “Better Man.”

And then for the all-star jam, they were joined by Journey’s Neal Schon and Jonathan Cain, Rush’s Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson and Yes’s Trevor Rabin and their former drummer Jack Irons for Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.” The audience surely would have stayed for more, but with that, the show ended.

If you missed it, HBO will air an edited version of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 29 at 8 pm ET.</s>Late rapper Tupac Shakur and 1960s protest singer Joan Baez were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday on a night where nostalgia was mixed with calls to political action.

Former Journey frontman Steve Perry reunited on stage with his “Don’t Stop Believin’” bandmates for the first time in 25 years to screams and hugs of joy, while Roy Wood of Electric Light Orchestra turned up for the New York ceremony 45 years after leaving the English band.

But one of the strongest moments came from Baez, 76, who linked her lifelong record of social activism and non-violence with a rallying call for resistance today.

“Let us together repeal and replace brutality and make compassion a priority. Let us build a great bridge, a beautiful bridge, to welcome the tired and the poor,” Baez told the Hall of Fame audience.

Baez then played an acoustic version of the traditional spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” and ended with the hope that the song’s band of angels were “coming for to carry me, you, us, even Donald Trump, home.”

Baez enjoyed a new round of fame this week with a protest song called “Nasty Man” about U.S. President Donald Trump. It was her first songwriting effort in 25 years and has been viewed some 3.3 million times since it was posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

Emotions ran high for the induction of Shakur, the Harlem-born rapper who was gunned down at age 25 in a 1996 drive-by shooting in Las Vegas that has never been resolved.

Shakur, whose songs about social and racial injustice still resonate today, was only the 6th rap act to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its 30-year history.

Fellow rapper Snoop Dogg recalled he and Shakur in the early 1990s as “two black boys struggling to become men.”

“Tupac’s a part of history for a reason - because he made history. He’s hip hop history. He’s American history,” Snoop said.

“Tupac, we love you. You will always be right with us. They can’t take this away from you homie,” he said, accepting the statuette on Shakur’s behalf.

British progressive rock group Yes, and Seattle-based grunge band Pearl Jam were also among the 2017 inductees, who were chosen by more than 900 voters drawn from the music industry.

Disco producer Nile Rodgers, the man behind 1970s hits like

 “Le Freak” and “We Are Family,” was presented with a special award for musical excellence.

Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first recording.

Tributes were also paid on Friday to Chuck Berry, who died last month at age 90 and who was the first person ever to be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and Prince, who died of an accidental painkiller overdose in April 2016.

The 2017 induction ceremony will be broadcast on cable channel HBO on April 29.</s>Seattle rockers Pearl Jam, the late rapper Tupac Shakur and 1970s hitmaking band Journey were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday night.
Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez, Journey, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, and Yes are the six acts inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.