The first gala night for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held on January 23, 1986. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, certifies and archives the history of the most well-known and influential rock artists.
But also that of producers, sound technicians, record companies, and other professionals who have had a lasting impact on rock history. It was Ahmet Ertegun, then head of Atlantic, who founded the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame (Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) on April 20, 1983. Cleveland’s permanent headquarters was established in 1986.
The first artists to be “inducted” into the Hall of Fame were Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, James Brown, Sam Cooke, and Jerry Lee Lewis. The event was the first of its kind, but it turned out to be great.
“Thanks very much, ladies and gentlemen — you’re about to find out how you get inducted,” said Keith Richards as he introduces Chuck Berry, whose influence on the Rolling Stones guitarist couldn’t have been greater. “It’s very difficult for me to talk about Chuck Berry,” he said, “because I lifted every lick he ever played.
Berry was the first one to be inducted as the list was in alphabetical order.
“May I take a few minutes to set a record straight?” Berry said at the podium, his arm around Richards. “This guy came into the Palladium with a cap turned down over his head, jumped on the piano […] and he sat down and started playing some dynamite boogie, and it was so loud. And I looked over, not knowing who he was, and I said, ‘Hey, get that guy offstage!'”
You can watch the full event below: