Sal Was At The RnR Hall Of Fame Induction

When you've stood with The Beatles, Zeppelin, The Who and countless others. You need to be the reporter at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. From the iHeart Radio Studio I'm Unplugged and Totally Uncut with my favorite Behind the Music front man Sal!!! The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held its 30th annual induction ceremony Saturday night at Public Hall in Cleveland. The class of 2015 consisted of Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The "5" Royales, Bill Withers, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and Green Day. Even though so many of the year's honorees are no longer with us, it was a long night. Bill Withers had people laughing when he detoured from his script, but ended up speaking for 13 minutes. The members of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts and the survivors of the Butterfield Blues Band spoke for a total of 45 minutes. Lou Reed's widow, Laurie Anderson, spent 12 minutes at the podium. Jett's longtime manager, Kenny Laguna, also felt the need to speak. Near the end of the night, as Ringo Starr was speaking, Paul McCartney pointed to his watch, which prompted the drummer to say, "After the things I've sat through tonight, blah, blah, blah. I've got some stories!" While the speeches were long, there were some funny -- and puzzling -- moments: Miley Cyrus, who inducted Joan Jett, said she wanted to have sex with her. Blackhearts guitarist Ricky Byrd echoed that, saying how much he and his bandmates wanted to get between the sheets with her. Ringo Starr's induction was for his solo career, but neither he nor Paul McCartney, in his introduction, mentioned that. Instead they focused on Ringo joining The Beatles. Ringo also had a tip for bands, saying that musicians who fart while traveling together should admit it in order to keep the peace. Laurie Anderson had the audience chanting "Louuuu," but when she joined in she sounded like a dying animal. There were technical delays during Ringo's time on stage. He wrapped up his speech and then had to stretch while they got things ready for his performance. At that point, he realized he had forgotten to thank his wife, actress Barbara Bach. He also hugged two members of the audience before putting down the microphone because he ran out of things to say. Then, after performing "Boys" with Green Day, he had to wait again while the house band and his brother-in-law Joe Walsh got ready to back him on "It Don't Come Easy." Paul McCartney and many of the night's performers and presenters then took part in renditions of "With a Little Help From My Friends" and "I Wanna Be Your Man." We asked Ringo how he felt about being inducted. He told us, "You're recognized when you're recognized. You can't live in that world. And I'm only actually doing it so Paul can have a day out." But he did say it was quite an honor. John Mayer, who inducted Stevie Ray Vaughan, calling him "the ultimate guitarist," did a few songs along with Jimmie Vaughan and Gary Clark Junior. Beck did Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love." In her induction speech, Patti Smith said Reed "was not only my friend, he was the friend of New York City." She thanked him "for brutally and benevolently injecting your poetry into music." Joan Jett opened the show with "Bad Reputation," then was joined by Dave Grohl for The Runaways' "Cherry Bomb" and "Crimson and Clover," for which they were joined by the song's originator, Tommy James, and Miley Cyrus. In her acceptance speech, Jett said, "I come from a place where rock and roll means something. It means more than music, more than fashion, more than a good pose. It's a language of a subculture that makes eternal teenagers out of all who follow it. It's a subculture of rebellion, integrity, frustration, alienation and the glue that set several generations free of unnatural societal and self-suppression." Green Day did a three-song set of "American Idiot," "When I Come Around" and "Basket Case." The trio was inducted by Fall Out Boy. In accepting, Billie Joe Armstrong looked out at the crowd and said, "It's like my record collection is actually sitting in this room." He cited a bunch of albums and bands as influences: "Horses by Patti Smith, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Mötley Crüe and Cheap Trick, Pyromania by Def Leppard, and a few others that hopefully will be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame soon." Stevie Wonder and John Legend performed a trio of Bill Withers' hits, including "Lean on Me." Wonder also inducted Withers. After an induction speech by Peter Wolf, country star Zac Brown and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine honored The Butterfield Blues Band with a performance of "Born in Chicago." Surviving members of the band, including Elvin Bishop and Sam Lay, did "Got My Mojo Working." Two of the late bandleader's sons accepted on his behalf. Steve Cropper spoke on behalf of The "5" Royales, none of whom survive. Highlights of the ceremony will air on HBO beginning May 30th.