Midwest Tape at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction took place on Saturday April 14, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. This year’s inductees included Guns ‘N Roses (minus Axl Rose whose absent was covered highly by the media), the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Beastie Boys, Donovan, and Laura Nyro.

The sold out room of fans got to see not only the inductees but also their very famous presenters, some of whom performed. Green Day took the stage to introduce Guns ‘N Roses. John Mellencamp introduced Donovan by raising a copy of Donovan’s “Fairy Tale” album that he bought 47 years ago as a child. LL Cool J introduced the Beastie Boys and told the audience he first thought of them as “punks,” a comment which filled the room of 6,000 fans with laughter. Comedian Chris Rock had the privilege of introducing the Red Hot Chili Peppers with a hilarious monologue that will all air on HBO Saturday May 5th.

Sadly, not everyone was present. Bette Middler choked up when she introduced the late song writer Laura Nyro. Middler told audience members that Nyro was one of her favorite artists. Laura Nyro, who was famous for her songwriting for Peter, Paul & Mary and Carole King, passed away in 1997 at the age of 49.

The Chili Peppers closed the night performing "By the Way" and "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie.”

Midwest Tape’s own music guru Lisa Bettinger, who is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member, went on Sunday for her annual inductee visit to the museum. Lisa became a member of to the Hall of Fame museum after she found herself traveling to Cleveland two to three times a year to visit.

“It was exciting to see all of the renovations completed,” said Lisa. “They had started off with the new Beatles exhibit. Of course, the Beatles are one of my favorites so that part was a highlight. The museum also expanded their ‘Timeline of Rock’ exhibit to include such styles as heavy metal and early blues.”

In addition to the new inductees, it was also the opening of the new Grateful Dead exhibit. Lisa said there were quite a few Deadheads walking around reminiscing about the Dead’s long, strange trip. Definitely an exciting time to be in Cleveland!