Cher, Mary J. Blige and Ozzy Osbourne were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday night in a ceremony held in Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum.
Cher inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Photo: Video capture Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
From Ozzy Osbourne, lead singer and founder of Black Sabbath, one of the most famous heavy metal bands of all time, to pop star Cher to rapper Mary J. Blige, this year’s inductees have “represented the power of musical creativity and the ability to shape the sound and style of popular music“, according to what was sent by the organizers of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Kool & the Gang, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest and Peter Frampton round out the 2024 “class” of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which, since its first edition in 1986, has been open to other genres such as soul , blues, R&B, folk, country and rap.
Pop star Dua Lipa opened the ceremony with a cover of Cher’s hit “Believe,” and the 70s and 80s superstar joined her on stage.
“I changed the sound of music forever” Cher, 78, said during her speech, nearly a year after strongly criticizing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for not inducting her sooner.
“It was easier to convince two men to divorce than to enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” joked Cher, whose full name is Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPiere.
American singer Jelly Roll had a soulful rendition of the song “Mom, I’m Coming Home” to honor Ozzy Osbourne during the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Instead, Mary J. Blige gave an emotional speech in which she thanked her mother, her team and all her collaborators. “All this time I wanted to be a rockstar and now I am. The queen of hip-hop soul is a rock star.” said Mary J. Blige.
Big Mama Thornton, Alexis Korner and John Mayall also received special mentions for “musical influence”, while Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield received awards for “musical excellence”.
Suzanne de Passe, who was among the most influential women in the music industry during the “Motown” era, won the award dedicated to professionals who are not musicians.
