Tom Petty, John Fogerty and Jackson Browne Join Randy Newman at Hall of Fame Induction
Tom Petty, John Fogerty and Jackson Browne joined Randy Newman onstage last night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The four veteran rockers, who all live in Los Angeles, opened the show at the city's Nokia Theater with a version of Newman's 1983 song 'I Love L.A.'
Newman was one of eight artists inducted into the Hall of Fame last night. The typically wry Newman said backstage, "I didn't think it would happen until I died or something."
Last night's 28th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was the first to be held in Los Angeles since 1993. For the past 20 years, events were held in either New York City or Cleveland, which is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
According to Rolling Stone, 'I Love L.A.''s rallying shouts of "I love it!" -- which were originally intended as sarcastic jabs at Newman's hometown -- sounded "less ironic" as the four stars "passed verses back and forth." As they "harmonized on the song's 'Twist and Shout'-style harmonies, it started to seem like they were a Wilburys-style supergroup in the making."
Later in the evening, Don Henley inducted the 69-year-old Newman, marveling at the singer-songwriter's ability to get 2,000 Texans to sing along to his 1974 song 'Rednecks,' which doesn't paint a very flattering picture of the south.
HBO will broadcast the induction ceremony on May 18.