26th Annual Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony March 20th
The 26th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Sunday March 20th on FuseTV.
In the performer catagory, Inductees are Alice Cooper, who will be inducted by Rob Zombie, Tom Waits will be inducted by Neil Young, Dr. John will be inducted by John Legend, Neil Diamond will be inducted by Paul Simon, and Darlene Love will be inducted by Bette Midler.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award for Musical Excellence (previously the Sidemen category) will be presented to Leon Russell, inducted by Elton John.
A pre-show ceremony took place last Monday night at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, where Rob Zombie and Elton John spoke about the honors and the awards.
Two names really jumped out at me from this year’s list of inductees.
Leon Russell should be listed as a performer, not just a sideman. I guess he got that distinction from his high-profile performances as bandleader for Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs and Englishmen tour, as well as his guest appearance on George Harrison’s Concert For Bangladesh.
But I’m glad to see Leon Russell finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s no surprise to see Elton John honoring Leon Russell as an inductee; they’ve long admired each other’s work, since becoming friends at Elton’s first U.S. show in 1970.
One of my favorite Elton John albums is Tumbleweed Connection, which I can just imagine Leon Russell performing on. Elton and Leon also did The Union album together late last year, produced by T Bone Burnett. Some critics have compared it to Tumbleweed, as a modern 70′s sounding record.
Jac Holzman will be inducted and presented the Ahmet Ertegun Award by John Densmore of The Doors, which is very appropriate since he signed and recorded the group on his Elektra Records label in the sixties.
Jac Holtzman may not be a name you recognize, but you know and love all the bands he’s produced and promoted on his Elektra record label. In the 60′s he brought us The Doors, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Judy Collins, Love and The Stooges.
In the 70′s Holtzman’s Elektra label released records by Bread, Queen, Carly Simon, The Cars, The Eagles, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt and Harry Chapin.
During the 80′s Elektra produced Metallica, Simply Red, Tracy Chapman, Anita Baker, Motley Crue, Danny Gatton, Howard Jones and The Cure.
The 90′s Elektra Entertainment brought us albums from Natalie Cole, 10, 000 Maniacs, Bjork, Sara Hickman, Natalie Merchant, The Georgia Satellites, They Might Be Giants, Kronos Quartet and The Gipsy Kings.
Jac Holtzman founded Elektra Records in 1950 and served as the label’s President for 23 years. He was also Chief Technologist for Warner Brothers in the 70′s, then served as Chairman for Panavision in the 80′s.
Jac Holtzman founded the Discovery Records label in the early 90′s, which was later acquired by the Warner Music Group. In 2005 Holtzman founded an online music label Cordless Recordings, with the purpose of giving new bands the headroom they needed to grow and develop their music without the intense pressure and high cost associated with most major labels.
His book, Follow the Music: The Life and High Times of Elektra Records in the Great Years of American Pop Culture, reveals a fantastic story of fame, fortune and fatalities. A highly recommended read!
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rockhall.com
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Wednesday, March 16th, 2011
Written by: Mike Withrow
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