THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

January 19, 1990 Friday
BYLINE: From Register news services

 

Hall of Fame pays tribute to its fifth induction class

Phil Spector cracked jokes, Hank Ballard broke down, Diana Ross wore a lacy ballerina skirt and U2's Bono inducted The Who into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Wednesday night by suggesting that the key to great rock 'n' roll bands is "a great nose."

It was the Hall's fifth black-tie induction dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. From the first scratchy notes of an old Ma Rainey 78 to the final chandelier-rattling jam, rock 'n' roll biz gave itself a pat on the back and inducted 13 more artists into the Hall.

The two-highest legend-to-legend summits were U2 inducting The Who and Stevie Wonder inducting the Four Tops. Wonder's message was simple: "Just imagine being the Four Tops."

Perhaps the most striking induction, however, was Phil Spector speaking for the Platters. Spector, who appeared to have been almost paralyzed with fright at his own induction last year, made up for it this year with a long speech that careened from Slim Whitman to rap music to the Archies before tying it all together with a tribute to the harmony group he first heard in 1955 on Hunter Hancock's rhythm and blues radio show in L.A. Before the ceremony, the normally reclusive Spector posed for photos and joked with photographers.

Ballard provided the most somber moment of the night when, during his induction, he recalled his wife, Teresa, who was killed in October in New York. "I miss you," he said, and turned from the mike, unable to continue.

Paul Simon provided a lighter counterpoint when he joked that he and partner Art Garfunkel will "join the other happy couples in the Hall: Paul and the other Beatles, Mick and Keith. We're waiting now for the Eagles."

Beside virtually every heavyweight in the music business, celebrity attendees included Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, Terence Trent D'Arby, Iman, Darlene Love, Sugar Ray Leonard, Debbie Gibson and Dion.

Other inductees included the Four Seasons, by Bob Crewe; the Kinks, by Graham Nash; and Bobby Darin, by Paul Anka.

The Hall also heard some good news from Cleveland, the city that had such trouble financing an actual Hall building. Larry Thompson, the Cleveland director, said groundbreaking is scheduled for November, with a projected 1992 opening.

Remember the all-Led Zeppelin radio station in Clearwater, Fla.? The former WKRL switched its call-letters to WXTB, then kicked off the promotion by playing "Stairway to Heaven" 181 times in a row on New Year's Day.

Now the format has gone to heaven as well. The all-Zep idea lasted 11 days.

Zep may have been high on quality, but it was never what you'd call a quantity band. In fact, the band produced just six hours and 27 minutes of total product during its 12-year history. That alone was not enough to carry the all-Zep concept, so last week programmers added The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and ZZ Top to the playlist at audience request.

The New York Daily News and Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel contributed to this report.