Appropriately, the 26th Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions began March 14, 2011 with an eye cast firmly toward the past.

The evening's first inductee, Dr. John, who inductor John Legend described as "a living link to the New Orleans of Dixieland" – ran through a long list of those whose tutelage had made him who he was – a list that included New Orleans greats like Professor Longhair and Huey "Piano" Smith. After a few minutes, though, he thought the better of it, wryly and jokingly concluding, "If I didn't mention you – too bad! What's important is that music is a blessing."

The notion of music as a blessing was a recurring theme Monday night, with presenters repeatedly honoring the impact of the inductees. "Tonight is the culmination of an effort on my behalf to try to get this man recognized for his incredible achievements," said Elton John, seated next to Leon Russell in the press room before the ceremony began. "To see him here tonight is very emotional to me," he continued, "There is no finer musician out there. Tonight, I'm so proud of him."

Elton brought a moment of sweetness, recalling how rediscovering Leon Russell's music on a recent vacation moved him so deeply that he called Russell out of the blue, a conversation that resulted in their 2010 collaboration The Union. A deeply-moved Russell gave the evening's shortest acceptance speech, saying "About a year ago, Elton came and found me in a ditch at the side of the highway and he took me up to the hospital and treated me like a king."

Back to Headlines