April 7, 2016

Predictions: Song Performances at the 2016 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

Whatever your feelings on the Rock Hall, there's no denying the musical performances are always the highlight. The inducted artists, fresh from coronation and playing in front of peers and rock legends, always bring their "A" game. 

Typically each act gets about 3 songs to perform, but some acts get less. So which tunes will blow the roof off Barclays Center on Friday, April 8? Here are a some predictions (admittedly, many are kind of obvious), assuming 3 numbers per inducted act:

N.W.A. - Not performing, and wow, what a huge letdown. Per Ice Cube in the New York Times: "I guess we really didn't feel like we were supported enough to do the best show we could put on... We wanted to do it on a whole other level, and that just couldn't happen."

Chicago - "25 or 6 to 4" is rumored to be the climactic end of night all-star jam (according to Matt Wardlaw and his interview with Chicago's Robert Lamm - http://ultimateclassicrock.com/robert-lamm-chicago-interview-2016/ ) so if that's true, expect the balance to be 2 out of these 3:

"Saturday in the Park" / "If You Leave Me Now" / "You're the Inspiration"

Cheap TrickDamn, wouldn't "Surrender" make a terrific end of night jam though? (I am saying this out loud in Mike Damone's voice.) Expect that song in any case, along with "I Want You to Want Me." Then it's probably going to be "Dream Police" but that could be swapped out for "The Flame."

Deep Purple"Highway Star" / "Hush" / "Smoke on the Water"; however, if there's a shocking change of events and David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes miraculously get to perform, expect "Burn" as a swap-out with "Hush".

Steve Miller - "The Joker" / "Fly Like an Eagle" / "Rock'n Me" or "Abracadabra."

Bert Berns - Probably none for this late record man, unless his co-written 1961 classic "Twist and Shout" (he was credited as "Bert Russell") ends up being the end of night jam. But since that already was part of an all-star jam during 1988's gala, another song he had a hand in could simply be performed after his induction presentation, such as "Piece of My Heart."