Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan & Sheryl Crow Usher In New Era At Rock Hall

From the moment Sheryl Crow cold-opened the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with the slightly strident “If It Makes You Happy,” there was a muscular buoyancy to Brooklyn’s Barclay Center that was initially hard to identify. With a thrumming guitar groove from Audley Freed and Crow’s rock solid rhythm playing, the appearance of Olivia Rodrigo on the second verse suggested that there is a future for rock music of all stripes.

Stevie Nicks’ appearance – after Laura Dern’s impassioned, almost fan girl speech – during the seeking “Are You Strong Enough To Be My Man” demonstrated how deep and strong the connection to the roots remains. Rather than a turgid run through influences and archetypes, this year’s induction showed a supple present/future/past throughout the evening.

Crow even got her own fan girl moment. After enlisting Peter Frampton – who delivered some majestic playing on Crow’s tender/tough classic – the songwriter/multi-instrumentalist recounted her mother driving Crow and three 14-year old friends to Memphis’ MidSouth Coliseum to see Frampton in his prime and sneaking from the “nosebleeds down to the floor.”

She adds, “We smelled weed for the first time and sang, ‘Do You Feel Like I Do?’ with Peter Frampton. Who wouldn’t want a life like this?”

READ MORE: Supa Dupa Fly Always: How Missy Elliott Fearlessly Made Her Way Into The Rock Hall

Indeed, that exuberance seemed to be the story of a four-and-a-half hour, all-star event that never grew tedious. With video packages that told the stories – or presenters who had deep personal connections – the honorees were presented for the artists and human beings they were, the impact they had and… the music.

Sir Elton John’s induction of Bernie Taupin saw the flamboyant pianist tearing up as he recounted two kids’ crazy journey. But his solo turn at the piano on the iconic “Tiny Dancer” was an altar call for a way of life that had pulled everyone in attendance into new worlds.

Andrew Ridgeley’s speech and acceptance for his friend George Michael spoke not just to pure pop impact, but the way a grounded artist can change the world through activism and living a life of basic conviction. Carrie Underwood’s closing “One More Try” distilled a life of strength and vulnerability with an unadorned, bravura performance.

DJ Kool Herc – honored by LL Cool J in hip hop’s 50th year – spoke to how organic the birth of a powerhouse genre was. After telling the tale of the older brother DJing at his sister’s “Back To School” party – where girls were charged 25 cents, boys 50 cents – to raise money for school clothes, the video package captured his impact across a moment that’s lasted half a century. When Herc broke down, his sister Cindy Campbell picked up for her brother, concluding, “I want to thank my brother Kool Herc for staying on the path and getting where he is today.”

That sentiment echoed through Jazmine Sullivan’s comments on Chaka Khan, who her mother turned the youngster on to. Dressed in chiffon and black spangled pants, Khan had the audience up and dancing from the moment Common started spitting the rap that opened Prince’s “I Feel For You,” which dropped into “Ain’t Nobody” as H.E.R came out to play the solo and share the songs. With a velvety, low “Sweet Thing” Khan was all kinds of erotic, only to explode with Sia for a bubbling over “I’m Every Woman” that was bright, building, percussive and spiraling higher and higher.

For an organization criticized for its sexism, racism and lack of popism, the night’s biggest winners were the artists who fell into those buckets. Khan, Michael, the Spinners (saluted by New Edition) and Don Cornelius had that sold-out venue feeling all the euphoria a night like this should hold.

Annie Clark/St. Vincent delivering Kate Bush’s wondrous “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” a slow-building techno volcano that’s a wash of tension, provided a real context for the song’s grounding.

Those passions permeated Jimmy Page’s appearance on an almost black video screen, speaking of the power of Link Wray’s “The Rumble” and how it impacted one of rock’s most storied guitarists as a young teen; his video was stark, his message potent. When the song began ringing out, that buzzing tone immediately recognizable, Page’s presence and performance in the room was palpable.

Ice T’s witness for a band banging around Madame Wong’s contemporaneously also rippled with respect and swagger. Talking about not being prepared for what Rage Against the Machine brought as an opening act a few weeks later, the stealth punch of the activist punk/slam rockers was underscored by the rest of his comments.

Though the band failed to perform, Tom Morello gave a forceful acceptance, talking about what the band values, issues that matter and why intensity in activism starts with using your music – even if it’s a mere four albums – to incite people to seek change. Hard. True. Political. Rock & Roll.

Politics were more in the forefront than in many years. Dave Matthews inducting Willie Nelson brought consciousness into the room: legalizing pot, not exporting jobs, agribusiness’ impact on our food and displacing family farmers. “Greed doesn’t rest,” he cautioned, “but neither does Willie Nelson.”

At 90, the country icon delivered a frisky “Whiskey River,” sharing the vocals with Chris Stapleton, but taking the iconic solo on his trusty acoustic Trigger. Acknowledging his songwriting start with a slinky “Crazy” that allowed Crow to return to the stage; culminating in all of the performers romping through “On The Road Again” as the audience jumped happily up and down.

If Taupin shouted out for Merle Haggard to get in and Nelson advocated for Waylon Jennings, it was Queen Latifah who showed up and showed out the lack of women hip-hop stalwarts in the Hall. Inducting Missy Elliott as the first female hip-hop artist, Latifah explained the impact as “nothing sounded the same after Missy came on the scene.”

Citing her as a “futurist,” Latifah explained how Elliott shared the success and the creativity, making the sexism almost irrelevant while “smashing the boundaries of fashion and style.”

Elliott absolutely did that again in closing the night with a projected space ship, dance troupe and smile brighter than all the stars in the room. Dressed in a gold sequin tracksuit and bucket hat, she threw down a gauntlet with “Get Ur Freak On,” “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly),” “Work It,” “Pass That Dutch” and “Lose Control.” Effervescent, bottomy, righteous and delicious, it was the perfect way to deliver that final KO punch the night deserved.

“You feel like it’s so far to reach,” she acknowledged, receiving her honor and offering her own truth in the process, “but to be standing here … I want to thank the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; I love you all. Just try to spread the love, because we need it.”