Cleveland has a good claim as the birthplace of rock’n’roll through the efforts of local DJ Alan Freed, who tirelessly promoted black R&B to a mostly white teenage audience and called it rock’n’roll. Freed has been credited with staging the first ever rock concert, in Cleveland in 1952— two years before Elvis’ first record. Little wonder then when this Milwaukee-like, Great Lakes blue-collar city became home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum when it opened in 1995.
Induction into the Hall of Fame has become a pop culture knighthood and most musicians so honored are happy to play a few tunes at the ceremony. The annual event actually preceded the opening of the museum and began with Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry playing “Roll Over Beethoven” at the inaugural night in 1986.
hat performance is included in “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live,” a nine-DVD set comprised of 125 performances culled from 25 years of induction ceremonies. Many are considered historic, even if some performances were one-night stands rather than enduring marriages of talent. As expected in a project so broad and encompassing, the artistry varies from one performer to the next. Eddie Vedder did a good Jim Morrison pose during the Doors’ merely capable rendition of “Light My Fire.” The Jefferson Airplane was surprisingly rousing on “Volunteers,” despite the absence of Grace Slick. The members of Cream were gracious to each other but “Sunshine of Your Love” lacked sparkle. The surviving members of Credence Clearwater Revival looked like old enemies drawn to the peace table when they accepted their honors, but the performance was actually by John Fogarty and an all-star lineup. “His Green River” retained the swampy snap of the original CCR recording. Santana, performing “Black Magic Woman” with the song’s author, Peter Green, was sublime.
Exemplifying much of the music on “Hall of Fame Live” was “I Saw Her Standing There,” with Mick Jagger, Bruce Spingsteen, George Harrison and Ringo Star sounding like the ultimate wedding band and looking like they had the time of their lives.
