USA: FLEETWOOD MAC, THE EAGLES, SANTANA AND THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS ARE AMONG THE 1998 INDUCTEES TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

Record ID: 387427

  • Title: USA: FLEETWOOD MAC, THE EAGLES, SANTANA AND THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS ARE AMONG THE 1998 INDUCTEES TO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME
  • Date: 12th January 1998
  • Summary: (RTV - ACCESS ALL) (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) BACKSTAGE MAMAS AND PAPAS L-R: OWEN CASS (MAMA CASS'S DAUGHTER, MICHELLE PHILLIPS, DENNY DOHERTY, JOHN PHILLIPS (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) MICHELLE PHILLIPS SAYING, "WHEN YOUR RECORDS ARE BOUGHT, THAT IS A SIGN FROM THE FANS BUT YOU NEVER KNOW IF THE PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY RESPECT YOU...IT FEELS GOOD." (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) OWEN CASS
  • Embargoed: 27th January 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: USA, NEW YORK
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Entertainment
  • Reuters ID: LVA1J27HUNX26AMQV8WWAJ50N4K3
  • Story Text: - The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Santana and the Mamas and the Papas were among the 1998 inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    Also inducted in a ceremony in New York on Monday (January 12) were Lloyd Price and the late Gene Vincent. Jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton, who died in 1941, entered the hall of fame as an "early influence," and another New Orleans figure, producer Allen Toussaint, was honored in the non-performer category.

    All the living inductees were present at the 13th annual ceremony, held this year at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

    Kicking off the evening was a performance of "Black Magic Woman" by Santana, the first inductee. Accepting for the group, Carlos Santana paid tribute to Latin artists such as Ritchie Valens and Jose Feliciano.

    "I almost feel like Jackie Robinson," he told reporters, referring to the first black major-league baseball player.

    But Santana, whose band is considered to have pioneered world music as a bridge between cultures, contended that the group's sound was "not Latin. What it is, is African music ... All the music that I love comes from Africa," he said.

    Inducted with him were group members Jose Chepito Areas, David Brown, Mike Carabello, Gregg Rolie and Michael Shrieve.

    Next up was Fleetwood Mac, the '70s band best known for the mega-platinum album "Rumours" and whose song "Don't Stop" became a Bill Clinton campaign anthem. Present were core members Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, Chrstine McVie and Stevie Nicks.

    The band, which dates back to 1967 and used its personal upheavals as fodder for "Rumours", recorded a comeback reunion album last year called "The Dance," which recently earned several Grammy nominations.

    Before performing "Say That You Love Me," Fleetwood spoke of the band's legacy of "lunacy, heartache, happiness, unhappiness and, thank God, a sense of healing." Backstage, vocalist Stevie Nicks said she would be happy being remembered as "just a great old rock 'n' roll lady." As for the band's future, member Lindsey Buckingham said members were "playing it by ear." "The Eagles" performed two of their biggest hits, "Take it Easy" and "Hotel California," the largely southern and midwest band's haunting metaphor for the vulgarly empty promise of southern California.

    A philosophical Don Henley accepted the award "not for being famous, but for doing the work," saying "accomplishment enriches life while fame always comes with a price." Glen Frey said the band differed from many in the rock world in that The Eagles were "a very laid-back band who played music in a very high stress situation. We got along fine, we just differed a lot." "It all goes back to the music, it's not about individuals," he said later, adding that the group's eight members, including Joe Walsh, were leaving "the doors open to possible future collaborations, unlike in the past." The Mamas and the Papas, who had not appeared on a stage together in 20 years, sang "California Dreamin'," the biggest of its string of hits from 1966 to 1968. Later the surviving members -- Cass Elliot died in 1974 -- faced questions about the group's much-reported interpersonal dramas.

    Asked about enduring hard feelings, Denny Doherty shot back "Oh yes, yeah we hate each other's guts." Michelle Phillips quickly added "We wouldn't be a proper rock band otherwise." Phillips said it was "good to know" the band had the music industry's respect, and Elliot's daughter, Owen, said that Cass "would really be stoked by all this" adding that her infamously hefty mother was "watching somewhere, in a size 6." The 1998 ceremony returned to New York after two years in Cleveland, home of the $100 million glass-and-steel Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It had been held in New York since inductions began in 1986, except for 1993, when the event was held in Los Angeles, and the 1996 and 1997 Cleveland editions.

    Artists become eligible for inclusion 25 years after releasing their first recording. Criteria for selection include influence and significance of the artist's contribution to rock 'n' roll.
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