Last night at the Waldorf-Astoria The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, ABBA and Iggy Pop’s Stooges accepted induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the Stooges, who had previously been named finalists six times, it was an honor a long time coming. “After the seventh time we were beginning to think we would have to take pride in not getting in,” James Williamson said in his acceptance speech. (Iggy had a different take: “Roll over, Woodstock. We won.”) After the jump we’ve rounded up videos of a few of the night’s performances — apologies for the poor quality in some cases, but we figure it’s better than nothing.
Trey Anastasio of Phish performs Genesis’ “Watcher of the Skies”
Peter Gabriel was too busy “preparing for a tour” to make the ceremony. Phil Collins, who looked miffed every time the cameras caught him, had this to say: “We’ve played without him for 30 years. We’re used to not having him around.” Zing!
Pat Monahan singing “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” with The Hollies
The current Hollies — Tony Hicks and Bobby Elliott — couldn’t attend because they were busy performing in the UK. They were represented by former band members Allan Clarke and Graham Nash.
Faith Hill and Benny Andersson performing ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All”
ABBA’s Anni-Frid Lyngstad told the audience, “I’m very honored, happy and grateful to [be] inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and to be a part of this illustrious group of very talented people.” She also said that the band would never perform again. Agnetha Faltskog, who has a fear of flying, and Bjorn Ulvaeus, who had another commitment, were not in attendance. Meryl Streep — who had a huge hit with the film adaptation of Mamma Mia! — was.
Billie Armstrong, Eddie Vedder, and Iggy Pop perform “I Wanna Be Your Dog”
During the performance Iggy jumped into the audience and shouted, “Show me you’re not too rich to be cool!” Here’s a shorter clip, with better sound quality. It also has a snippet of Jimmy Cliff’s performance, which we can’t find anywhere else. His voice is ah-mazing.
Note: The show rebroadcasts on FUSE this Sunday, March 21, at 5 p.m.