TUESDAY EDITION


GENESIS, ABBA, THE HOLLIES, AND THE STOOGES ENTER THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Genesis, ABBA, the Hollies, the Stooges, and Jimmy Cliff were among the inductees last night (March 15th) at the 25th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at New York City's Waldorf Astoria. Also inducted in the non-performer categories were legendary "Brill Building" songwriters Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, and Mort Shuman. 1950's R&B and early rock writers Jesse Stone and Otis Blackwell were also finally inducted.

The 25th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air again on Fuse on Sunday, March 21st at 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET, with a final repeat airing on Tuesday, March 23rd at 3 p.m. ET.

THE INDUCTEES

GENESIS

Genesis is one of rock's few bands to become even more successful after losing key members. Although best known for their 1978 to 1992 heyday as a trio -- featuring Phil Collins, Tony Banks, and Mike Rutherford -- prog rock fans have always held their early era with original frontman Peter Gabriel in the highest regard. Gabriel's stage antics, outfits and appearance pushed the boundaries of what a rock singer could look like, appearing over the years with a reverse Mohawk and batwings, in a red dress and fox mask, as a flower, an elderly man, and even a teen-aged New York City street punk.

The key early Gabriel-era albums, such as Nursery Cyme (1971), Foxtrot (1972), Selling England By The Pound (1973), and The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway (1974), stood apart from groups like King Crimson and Yes for their symphonic musicality and Gabriel's flowing prose.

Following Gabriel's 1975 departure, and guitarist Steve Hackett's eventual exit in 1977, the trio of Collins -- who took on lead vocal duties as well as his usual drum role -- Rutherford and Banks immediately scored pop hits with 1978's "Follow You, Follow Me," with 1980's Duke bringing further radio success with "Misunderstanding," and "Turn It On Again." Their 1981 breakthrough Abacab fully embraced the MTV generation and scored with the album's title track, "No Reply At All" -- featuring Earth, Wind & Fire's horn section the Phoenix Horns, and "Man On The Corner."

Following Phil Collins' concurrent solo career, the band went on to release the multi-platinum albums Genesis (1983) and Invisible Touch (1986) which scored an unprecedented five Top Ten singles -- including the title track which became the band's sole chart topper. With plans for a five-man reunion tour falling apart mid-decade, Collins, Rutherford, and Banks embarked on what was likely their final North American and European dates in 2007.

THE HOLLIES

Second only to the Beatles, the Hollies from Manchester, England were the greatest harmony group to emerge from the British Invasion. Led by childhood best friends guitarist Graham Nash and singer Allan Clarke, the original line-up was rounded out by bassist Eric Haydock, drummer Bobby Elliott and Tony Hicks -- both of whom are the only original members of the group still touring with the band. Liverpudlian Terry Sylvester replaced Nash in 1968 when he split for America to co-found Crosby, Stills, & Nash.

With Nash's harmony tenor riding high above Clarke's lead vocals, the group released such Brit-pop standards as "Just One Look," "I'm Alive," "Look Through Any Window," "I Can't Let Go," "Bus Stop," "Stop! Stop! Stop!," "On A Carousel," "Carrie Anne," "King Midas In Reverse," and "Jennifer Eccles."

Following Nash's departure the band continued on scoring hits with "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" -- featuring Elton John on piano, "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" and "The Air That I Breathe."

ABBA

ABBA formed in Sweden in the early '70s and eventually became one of the most popular groups on the planet. They disbanded in 1983, and have never regrouped. They continue to be one of the best selling acts in the world and still manage to sell around 3,500 albums globally per day. In 2000, they declined a $1 billion offer to reunite for a tour.

Although ABBA has gone on to become one of the best selling international acts, they only scored four Top Ten American hits and never had an album peak any higher than Number 14 on the U.S. charts. Their only U.S. Number One hit was "Dancing Queen," which topped the charts for one week in April 1977. Among their other notable hits were "Waterloo," "Take A Chance On Me" "The Winner Takes It All," "Fernando," and "S.O.S." The group's main compilation album ABBA Gold has sold over 26 million copies worldwide, and is one of the top 40 biggest selling releases ever.

THE STOOGES

The Stooges -- Iggy Pop, brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on guitar and drums, respectively, bassist Dave Alexander, along with later members, guitarist James Williamson and saxophonist Steve Mackay -- remain among the most influential, if not commercially successful, bands to emerge from the late-'60s Michigan scene, which birthed Ted Nugent, Bob Seger, and the MC5.

Their three original albums The Stooges (1969), Fun House (1970), and Raw Power (1973) ushered high-octane pre-punk garage rock into the '70s, with Pop's outlandish stage show -- in true rock and roll fashion -- pushing the limits of art and good taste. Guitarist Ron Asheton -- arguably the heart and soul of the band -- died of a heart attack on January 6th, 2009 at age 60.

JIMMY CLIFF

In addition to starring in the 1972 Jamaican crime movie The Harder They Come, reggae pioneer Jimmy Cliff contributed timeless songs to the film's soundtrack -- which nearly 40 years later continue to set the bar for reggae's crossover into pop and R&B. The film featured such Cliff classics as "Sitting In Limbo," "Many Rivers To Cross," "You Can Get It If You Really Want," and "The Harder They Come."

Bruce Springsteen has included his cover of Cliff's socio-political tour-de-force "Trapped" in his setlists during nearly every tour since 1981.

NON-PERFORMER CATEGORY

ELLIE GREENWICH & JEFF BARRY

Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry will always be associated with their works both with and without Phil Spector on such legendary 1960's staples as the Ronettes' "Be My Baby," "Baby, I Love You," and "I Can Hear Music," the Shangri-La's' "Leader Of The Pack," the Dixie Cups' "Chapel Of Love," Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High," the Crystals' "Then He Kissed Me" and "Da Doo Ron Ron," Manfred Mann's "Doo Wah Diddy Diddy," Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and"(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry," and Tommy James and the Shondells' "Hanky Panky," among many others.

Greenwich and Barry eventually divorced in 1965, with Greenwich dying last August of a heart attack at age 68.

BARRY MANN & CYNTHIA WEIL

Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil wrote such legendary songs as the Drifters' "On Broadway" (with Leiber & Stoller), the Ronettes' "(Walking) In The Rain," the Crystals' "Uptown" and "He's Sure The Boy I Love," the Righteous Brothers' "(You're My) Soul & Inspiration" and "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Kicks," the Monkees' "Shades Of Gray," the Animals' "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," B. J. Thomas' "I Just Can't Help Believin'," Dolly Parton's "Here You Come Again," James Ingram with Quincy Jones' "Just Once," Sergio Mendes' "Never Gonna Let You Go," James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt's "Somewhere Out There," and Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt's "Don't Know Much," among others.

MORT SHUMAN

Mort Shuman -- with longtime lyricist Doc Pomus -- wrote such rock and roll standards as Dion and the Belmonts' "A Teenager In Love", Fabian's "Turn Me Loose", the Drifters' "This Magic Moment", and "Save The Last Dance For Me", and Elvis Presely's "Little Sister", "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" and "Viva Las Vegas," among others. Shuman died in 1991.

OTIS BLACKWELL

The late Otis Blackwell is best remembered for writing such classics as Little Willie John's "Fever" -- which was a massive hit for Peggy Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Breathless", Jimmy Jones' "Handy Man" -- later a hit for James Taylor, Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel", "All Shook Up" -- for which "The King,' whom Blackwell never met, took partial songwriting credit -- and "Return to Sender" -- which he co-wrote withwith Winfield Scott. Blackwell died in 2002.

JESSE STONE

R&B legend Jesse Stone -- also known as "Charles E. Calhoun" at times for contractual reasons -- wrote such timeless early rock and roll standards as Ray Charles' "Losing Hand," "Money Honey", which was the Drifters' debut single for the Drifters in 1953. The following year he arranged "Sh-Boom" by the Chords.

Stone also wrote Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle and Roll" which like "Flip, Flop and Fly" was successfully covered by Bill Haley and his Comets. Steve Miller covered "Your Cash Ain't Nothing But Trash" for his 1973 The Joker, and Huey Lewis and the News covered the track for their 1994 covers set Four Chords & Several Years Ago, with "Don't Let Go" being covered over the years by Isaac Hayes, Jeff Lynne, and Jerry Garcia, among others. Stone died in 1999 at age 97.

DAVID GEFFEN

David Geffen played a crucial role in the shaping of how California rock became big business; first on a managerial level before launching such heavyweight record labels as Asylum and Geffen.

During his five decades in the business Geffen has signed, worked with, managed and/or advised Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, Laura Nyro, Joni Mitchell, the Byrds, the Eagles, J.D. Souther, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Jackson Browne, Donna Summer, Elton John, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Bob Dylan, and John Lennon, among many others. Longtime friend Jackson Browne inducted Geffen last night.

SOUND FROM THE CEREMONY:

While inducting Genesis, Phish's Trey Anastasio talked about how important the band's second album, 1970's Trespass, was for him growing up as a budding musician: ["I fell in love with that record, and for me that cover perfectly captures the spirit of this band -- rebellious, reckless -- something more than the obvious. Every musical rule and boundary was questioned and broken. It's impossible to overstate what a huge musical impact this band and this philosophy had on me, and I'm forever in their debt so thank you guys (applause)."] SOUNDCUE (:30 OC: . . . thank you guys)

Phil Collins said it was a big moment for the band and mentioned how founding member Peter Gabriel couldn't be at the event. Gabriel is in Paris rehearsing for his upcoming orchestral tour: ["So I'm the singer, current singer, and I get to the dirty work. Yeah, Pete can't be here. But thank you Trey. That was a really convincing argument! It's fantastic."] SOUNDCUE (:24 OC: . . . argument it's fantastic)

Collins noted the various formations of Genesis upon accepting the honor -- including their legendary sidemen since the late '70s: ["This band has been in so many different guises. With Peter. With Steve. With Chester, with Steve. Without Steve. With Chester with Darryl. Chester Thompson, Darrell Stuermer, who for 30 years and everybody that's decided we should get this lovely award, anyway, thank you very much."] SOUNDCUE (:30 OC: . . . you very much)

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong talked about how influential the Stooges have been on different bands through the years: ["Endless inspiration that started in Ann Arbor Michigan and spread from East Coast to West Coast. From England throughout Europe and across the globe. Blood, guts and peanut butter have spread everywhere. And I just want to say that Ron Asheton's and Dave Alexander's spirit is alive in this room tonight. And without further adieu, it is my honor to induct into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- and it's about time -- the Stooges!"] SOUNDCUE (:31 OC: . . . time the Stooges)

Iggy Pop said he was proud to be honored and mentioned how the late Stooges members -- guitarist Ron Asheton and bassist Dave Alexander would have felt about the induction: ["Well roll over, Woodstock. We won! (Applause) We didn't win a lot starting out. We three here are the surviving stooges. Ron and Dave would have gotten a big kick out of this, and Ron was pissed off that it didn't happen while he was alive. I don't know how he feels about it now. He's probably sitting up there in heaven having martinis with Brian Jones trying to flick ashes on our head."] SOUNDCUE (:42 OC: . . . on our head)

Guitarist Steve Van Zandt announced the honorees of the Hollies: ["It is my distinct honor and pleasure to induct into the Rock and Roll of Hall of Fame -- Allan Clarke, Graham Nash, Tony Hicks, Eric Haydock, Billy Elliot, Bernie Calvert and Terry Sylvester-- the magnificent Hollies!"] SOUNDCUE (:13 OC: . . . the magnificent Hollies)

Graham Nash joked about the success the Hollies had after he left the group: ["What a trip this has been. Amazing. Actually, the Hollies after I left in 1968 had the audacity, the gall to have three Number One records after I left. Thanks a lot!"] SOUNDCUE (:13 OC: . . . thanks a lot)

Jimmy Cliff said that while growing up in Jamaica he listened intently to rock and roll music: ["A lot of the great rock and roll people like Sam Cook, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, Jimi Hendrix, they were all big inspriration for myself and all of us in Jamaica and the Caribbean. So it is good to be here tonight."] SOUNDCUE (:21 OC: . . . be here tonight)

Robin Gibb spoke about the importance of ABBA's music lasting now three generations: ["ABBA, the phenomenon that marched on as Agnetha, Annie-Frid, Bjorn and Benny carved out their own territory in the incredible landscape of popular music. Cream always rises to the top. Great music is always forever. Back to the it was written. The are in one word timeless. They are as perennial as the grass."] SOUNDCUE (:27 OC: . . . as the grass)

Barry Gibb touched upon ABBA's influence through the years: ["Then of course came Mama Mia the movie with the incredible performance by Meryl Streep, who is with us tonight to celebrate ABBA. This just shows you that the music stays with us. It connects us through all kinds of change. Some great. Some small."] SOUNDCUE (:22 OC: . . . great. Some small.)

Anna-Frid Ruess of ABBA admitted that she was filled with different emotions about the honor: ["I'm so thrilled. And also it's a very emotional in a way, for me for us. We haven't been a group. We haven't performed or sang together for 28 years. We broke up in 1982. And I never think we'd reunion again. I guess it would be too late for that."] SOUNDCUE (:27 OC: . . . late for that)

Songwriter Cynthia Weil talked about how cute she thought Barry Mann was when she first met him many years ago. She said she's grateful to say that he's still both her husband and longtime songwriting partner: ["I'm proud to say that I am probably one of the first female stalkers, and I have built a career on lust that turned to love. Through all of the years together, through all of the loving, and the living, and the fighting, and the writing, and the breaking up, and the reuniting, I think that's held us together has been this great bond of creativity. It's been rock and roll."] SOUNDCUE (:33 OC: . . . rock and roll)

Barry Mann said he feels lucky for his life with wife and songwriting partner Cynthia Weil: ["And of course, the person I have to thank the most is my wife and co writer, as I understand I can't. She's a great wife, and one of the greatest lyricists in the world. I got two for one. And I'm a lucky guy. I got two for one. Thank you."] SOUNDCUE (:12 OC: . . . one. Thank you.)

PERFORMANCES:

The night wrapped with a tribute to the evening's songwriters that included a mix of performances:

SOUND FROM BACKSTAGE:

Anna-Frid Ruess was asked how it felt to be among the first Northern Europeans inducted into the Rock Hall: ["I actually never though about it like that. I thought about it more being one of the females inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is not very many, actually. It's only 15 percent or something. So I'm very proud about that fact."] SOUNDCUE (:13 OC: . . . about that fact)

Benny Andersson feels pride that the stigma of ABBA has lifted and now even rock fans are delving deep into their catalogue: ["We had some nice costumes in the '70s (laughter) and we had this image and we were sort of foriegners, but the records are still alive, y'know? So people tend to forget these things. They don't know what we look like anymore. No, it feels good. It fels good that so many musicians from different categories enjoy what we did."] SOUNDCUE (:19 OC: . . . what we did)

Jimmy Cliff revealed that he's planning a busy second half of 2010: ["I have just completed a new album, it's called Existence. Hopefully it will be out in the summer. I am currently working on a tour also for the summer -- from June to the end of August."] SOUNDCUE (:14 OC: . . . end of August)

Iggy Pop was asked if he thinks the Stooges' induction is part of a larger group resurgence: ["I don't think so, no. This is about something else. To me, what has happened for us has already been happening. This is symbolic of it, and it just lets certain people know who are nervous -- people who are nervous with losers (laughs), this let's 'em know it's cool to like us."] SOUNDCUE (:20 OC: . . . to like us)

Carole King, who had the honor of inducting the evening's songwriter inductees, explained that the Rock Hall is a valuable tool for future music lovers to discover their past: ["These awards are so important, because they remind people of the importance of music and the importance of the history -- the continuum of music that we're on. Because there are, y'know, really wonderful artists today, and my generation was influenced by artists and musicians and songwriters that came before. So these awards remind us of that."] SOUNDCUE (:22 OC: . . . us of that)

Barry and Robin Gibb were asked if they considered ABBA their competition during each group's late-'70s heyday [(Robin Gibb): "I think, y'know, you end up as rivals but you end up being as friends, because there's so few of you. You could say that about the Beatles -- or anybody else that's out there at the time. You've got to have somebody to compete with. So you like them, you enjoy them, and you say 'Well, I want to beat that.' (Barry Gibb): Actually we were more competitive with each other than we were with any other group."] SOUNDCUE (:17 OC: . . . any other group)

Mike Rutherford says that he's proud of the fact that the Rock Hall saluted Genesis for both their overtly accessible rock albums -- as well as their progressive past: ["It's quite strange tonight seeing the old footage and the old songs, y'know? Especially as the last sort of 30 years we've been known more for singles success, less the old stuff. I think it's nice that a band like us has been inducted. I got the impression from the guys today that it's been more sort of guitar-based rock bands, American ones. So for an English, sort of progressive type band to be up there was really nice."] SOUNDCUE (:23 OC: . . . was really nice)

Phil Collins admitted that he was pretty blown away from Trey Anastasio's induction speech: ["Well the whole thing -- the whole thing he did with the band was very moving for us. For people to come out and own up that they like what we do is really kind of interesting, 'cause we don't get alot of that. And I think his speech was really from the heart, because we all met him earlier and he said that this is how he grew up. To put it into words the way he did, I thought was very touching. And they played tow very difficult songs very well. So I applaud him and I applaud Phish, we all do. We thought it was great."] SOUNDCUE (:31 OC: . . . it was great)

Graham Nash explained why this honor -- above most others -- means the most to him: ["I enjoyed -- and still do -- my time with David (Crosby), Stephen (Stills), and Neil (Young), but this is very, very special for me. It sends me back to the very beginning and the very reason why I got into music in the first place; It changes people's lives, it makes you feel less lonely, it makes you feel less crazy, it makes you feel that you've got a friend out there. And that's what the Hollies were. We wre the audience's friend, and they knew it -- and we all had a great time together."] SOUNDCUE (:24 OC: . . . great time together)

"Let It Be," along with its companion piece "The Long And Winding Road," was written by Paul McCartney in late 1968 near the end of the Beatles' "White Album" sessions. He began writing the song after waking from a dream featuring his mother, Mary, who had died of cancer when he was 14.

According to AntiMusic, the trouble began on Friday (March 12th) when the band failed to appear for a "secret" gig at an intimate venue on Sao Paulo, Brazil. A number of wealthy attendees at the club reportedly waited until three in the morning until they were told the band was not playing, at which point they staged a mini-riot and ended up wrecking the club. Although there were rumors that Guns N' Roses were playing three "secret" shows while in South America, the band denied that the gigs were taking place -- which meant the alleged gigs could have been falsely advertised by a shady promoter.

Meanwhile, a scheduled Guns N' Roses show in a stadium in Rio De Janeiro on Saturday (March 13th) was scrapped when heavy rains caused the stage to collapse. Singer Axl Rose wrote online, "There fortunately are no fatalities but there are injuries from both our camp and Rio crews the extent of which is not known at present . . . Thank you for your understanding and please be safe out there. Thank you. Axl Rose."