BTO, CS&N, LSD inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
CLEVELAND, OH—Superlatives were flowing as the new honored the old last night at the fourth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Hall of Fame membership was bestowed on 70s hard rock group Bachman-Turner Overdrive, folk-rock pioneers Crosby, Stills, and Nash, and the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive performed their hit songs including "Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Takin' Care of Business" to open the ceremony, rocking the crowd of mainly music critics, record executives, and recovering LSD addicts. After a set by CS and N which included "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and "Ohio," the audience was treated to yet another "hit," one contained on an authentic 1969 five-cent postage stamp.
While BTO and CS and N both delivered spectacular performances, it was undoubtedly LSD that stole the show. Opening its set with a wild laser-light show, LSD quickly "kicked in" with a performance that had the audience screaming, hissing, clawing the centipedes from out of their eyes, and desperately needing more.
Following the performances, some of today's hottest musicians were given the chance to honor their musical influences. The hard rock group The Goo-Goo Dolls stated that if it weren't for BTO, they never would have formed a band. "[Bass player and vocalist] Robby [Takac] and [drummer George] Tutuska and I used to sit in my parents' garage, listening to 'TCOB' ['Takin' Care of Business'] over and over again until the neighbors complained. We wanted to be just like Randy [Bachman], Robbie [Bachman], [C.F.] 'Fred' [Turner] and Tim [Bachman, BTO band members]," said guitarist and vocalist Johnny Rzeznik.
In an interesting moment for the night, Neil Young himself, who has occasionally joined up with CS and N to form Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, performed a moving tribute to his three former band-mates, playing solo acoustic guitar, harmonica, and mumbling incoherently into a microphone.
Finally, a short documentary film paid tribute to one of the great musical influences of the century, LSD. Among the artists interviewed for the film were BTO and CS and N themselves, who all agreed that LSD made a significant contribution to modern music. In an especially moving interview, former Beatle John Lennon was quoted as saying, "if my music appears great, it is only because I am standing on the shoulders of giants. Man, giants! Help!"
The film ended with a twenty minute trip To Jupiter and Beyond, followed by a glimpse of the Star Child.