Hollywood Walk of Fame
WAR will receive its star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday June 5 – 56 years after the band was formed in Long Beach, Calif.
Comedian George Lopez, whose eponymous sitcom (2002-07) featured War’s 1975 smash “Low Rider” as its theme song, is set to speak at the event. In a fun twist, the group is scheduled to arrive at the star ceremony in low riders provided by four car clubs – Imperial Car Club, Groupe ELA, Spirit Car Club, and Southern Life Car Club.
Music producer Jimmy Jam will emcee the ceremony, which will take place at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard. It is the 2,814th star ceremony and will be streamed live exclusively at walkoffame.com.
The honor is shared by original members Lonnie Jordan, Harold Brown, Howard Scott, Lee Oskar and Jerry Goldstein; late members Charles Miller, Morris Dickerson and Thomas Sylvester Allen; and current members Salvador Rodriguez, Marcos Reyes, Rene Camacho, Scott Martin, Mitchell Kashmar and James Zota Baker.
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WAR had four top 10 albums on the Billboard 200, including one that reached No. 1 in 1973, The World Is a Ghetto. It had six top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, with the funky “The Cisco Kid” climbing as high as No. 2 in 1973 – kept from the top spot by Tony Orlando & Dawn’s resolutely unfunky “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree.”
“Low Rider,” released in 1975, was its only No. 1 on what was then called Hot Soul Singles (and is now called Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs). “Low Rider” has since become the band’s signature song. It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014.
WAR’s signature fusion of funk, soul, jazz, Latin, rock and street music made their music stand out in the 1970s, along with their ability to weave social messages into their songs, notably on “Why Can’t We Be Friends?” WAR have been nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame three times (2009, 2012, 2015), but have yet to get the nod.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the Walk of Fame for the City of Los Angeles and has hosted these star ceremonies for decades.
Flavor Flav added a dose of good-spirited chaos to Green Day‘s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony on Thursday (May 1). The rapper was on hand to help celebrate the punk rock trio receiving their much deserved star on the famous Tinseltown walkway along with the likes of Ryan Reynolds, the band’s longtime record executive and […]
Former MTV VJ and music industry stalwart Matt Pinfield has told fans he is “slowly but surely” continuing to recover from a massive stroke he suffered earlier this year. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Pinfield, a onetime Columbia Records VP of A&R who has had a […]
Green Day landed one of its biggest hits with their 2004 single “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” — now, 20 years later, the trio’s dreams are coming true over on Hollywood Boulevard. The veteran rock band is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, May 1 at 11:30 a.m. PT. […]
Otis Redding is about to get a little “Respect” – to borrow the title of one of his most famous compositions – from the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The late soul music legend will be honored posthumously with a star on Friday, Oct. 4, at 11:30 a.m. PT at 6150 Hollywood Blvd. Redding’s star is in the category of live theatre/live performance.
Five-time Grammy-winning producer (and previous Walk of Fame honoree) Jimmy Jam will emcee the star ceremony. Killer Mike, who won three Grammys in the rap field in February, will speak. Accepting the award will be the singer’s daughter, Karla Redding-Andrews.
“The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is honored to dedicate a star to the legendary Otis Redding, whose music continues to inspire generations,” Ana Martinez, producer of the Walk of Fame ceremonies, said in a statement.
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Redding has long been regarded as one of the greatest soul singers in popular music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 1999. Three of his recordings are in the Grammy Hall of Fame – his 1965 hit “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (to Stop Now),” his 1967 reinvention of the 1933 pop standard “Try a Little Tenderness” and his deeply moving 1968 classic “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay.” Aretha Franklin’s classic 1967 version of “Respect,” which Redding wrote and had the initial hit with in 1965, is also in the Grammy Hall.
Redding had a volley of hits between 1964 and 1967. He even played at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967. But less than six months later, on Dec. 10, 1967, he died in a plane crash in Madison, Wisc. en route to a concert. He was just 26.
The first sign that his music would live on came when “(Sittin’ on) the Dock of the Bay” shot to No. 1 in early 1968 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Top Selling R&B Singles (as the chart was then called). Redding also had a pair of top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 in the spring of 1968 – History of Otis Redding and The Dock of the Bay. In early 1969, “Dock of the Bay” won two Grammys – best rhythm & blues song and best rhythm & blues vocal performance, male.
Redding’s influence continues through the work of the Otis Redding Foundation, ran by his widow Zelma and daughter Karla Redding-Andrews, which seeks to preserve his legacy through empowering music education for all youth.
The star ceremony will be streamed live at WalkOfFame.com.
Batman has been an iconic character in comic books, TV and film for 85 years. On Thursday, Sept. 26, he’ll make history as the first superhero with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star will be at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in front of The Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum. Michael Empric, an official Guiness World Records adjudicator, will be on hand to certify Batman’s history-making achievement.
“The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to honor our first superhero on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! The one, the only, Batman!” stated Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “Fans from around the world will be thrilled to know that Batman will have his star dedicated next to the stars of television’s Batman, Adam West, and the co-creator of Batman, Bob Kane.”
Jim Lee, DC Comics’ president, publisher, and chief creative officer, and Anne DePies, SVP & general manager, will be there, as will Steve Nissen, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president & CEO, who will emcee the event.
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Created for DC Comics by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, Batman first appeared in 1939’s Detective Comics #27. The Batman TV series, starring West and Burt Ward as Robin, debuted on ABC in January 1966. Neal Hefti’s memorable theme song to the series won a Grammy for best instrumental theme and sparked a cover battle on the Billboard Hot 100. Hefti’s original version reached No. 35, but a cover version by the sur-rock instrumental band The Marketts made No. 17.
With the help of director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton, Batman would usher in the age of the comic book movie in 1989. Danny Elfman composed and produced the score album, which reached No. 30 on the Billboard 200. Elfman’s “The Batman Theme” won a Grammy for best instrumental composition.
Prince composed and produced an album of songs “inspired by and featured in” that 1989 film, which did even better than the score album. This ushered in the era of pop soundtracks which were distinct from (and often more successful than) score albums. Prince’s album topped the Billboard 200 for six consecutive weeks and spawned a No. 1 single on the Hot 100, “Batdance.”
The soundtrack to Batman Forever in 1995 reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and spawned a No. 1 smash, Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose,” which won Grammys for both record and song of the year. Seal didn’t write the song for the film, so it wasn’t Oscar-eligible. The soundtrack also featured U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” which reached No. 16 on the Hot 100, as well as genre hits by Method Man and Offspring.
The soundtrack to Batman & Robin in 1997 also reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured hits by such diverse acts as Smashing Pumpkins, Jewel, R. Kelly, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Eric Benet.
Hans Zimmer composed and conducted the scores to The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), both of which reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200. Zimmer also composed and conducted the score to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which reached No. 25.
The Batman film franchise has grossed more than $6.8 billion at the global box office, making it the 10th highest-grossing film franchise of all time.
The star unveiling ceremony will be streamed live at www.walkoffame.com.
In 1990, writer/producer Glen Ballard helped Wilson Phillips land a multiplatinum debut album that spawned three No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 – “Hold On,” “Release Me” and “You’re in Love.” On July 11, the pop trio will return the favor, speaking as Ballard gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. […]
Prince, Keith Urban and Green Day are among 36 entertainment professionals who have been selected to receive stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Prince, who died in 2016 at age 57, will be a relatively rare posthumous induction. Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park, will be honored in a double ceremony.
The 2025 class was announced at a press conference held at Ovation Hollywood on Monday (June 24). Music producer Jimmy Jam and actors Joe Mantegna and Niecy Nash joined Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president/CEO Steve Nissen to make the announcement. Jimmy Jam was a close associate of Prince in the early 1980s when he and partner Terry Lewis were in The Time.
This year’s inductees range in age from Fantasia, 39, to Toni Vaz, 101. Vaz was Hollywood’s first Black stuntwoman and co-founder of the NAACP Image Awards. Other older inductees are Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu, 97; film and TV actress Jane Fonda, 86; and actor/director Bill Duke, 81.
Fonda, daughter of acting legend Henry Fonda, is one of three second-generation stars being honored, along with Emilio Estevez, son of Martin Sheen; and journalist Chris Wallace, son of 60 Minutes great Mike Wallace.
Most of the inductees are American, though some hail from outside the U.S. These include English band Depeche Mode; Mexican grupera band Los Bukis; Urban, who was born in New Zealand, but is now Australian/American; Irish actor Colin Farrell; Chinese-American actress Lisa Lu; Scottish actor Alan Cumming; and retired English football player David Beckham.
The Walk of Fame selection committee, made up of past Walk of Famers, selected this year’s honorees from among hundreds of nominees on June 14. The choices were ratified by the Hollywood Chamber’s board of directors that same day.
Dates have not yet been scheduled for these star ceremonies. Recipients have two years to schedule star ceremonies from the date of selection before they expire. Upcoming star ceremonies are usually announced 10 days prior to the dedication on the official website.
Star ceremonies are streamed worldwide. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce administers the Walk of Fame on behalf of the city of Los Angeles. Sponsors fund the star, the ceremony, and the maintenance of the world-famous attraction. Attending Walk of Fame ceremonies is free to the public. To learn more, and to find the location of stars on the Walk of Fame, visit the website.
Here are quick details about this year’s inductees into the Hollywood Walk of Fame, showing the current ages of all individuals.
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Charlie Wilson received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with collaborators like Snoop Dogg attending the ceremony honoring him.
For Charlie Wilson, the road to being an R&B legend has been a long and eventful one. Another milestone in that journey occurred on Monday (January 29) as he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The 71-year-old lead singer of The Gap Band reminisced over a moment in his past when he first arrived in Los Angeles while addressing the crowd at the ceremony.
“But I was walking in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and I was trying to put my hands in the hands on the sidewalk. I was like, ‘Wow, what if I can get this one day?’, Wilson said. “Some woman walking by said, ‘That’s not impossible.’ I said, ‘But I’m talking about me.’ She said, ‘Yeah, and I’m telling you it’s not impossible. It might be improbable, but not impossible.’ And now, here it is — so many years later, and I’m getting that star on Hollywood Boulevard.”
Snoop Dogg, a frequent collaborator of Wilson’s, praised the singer for being a vault of knowledge for him. “That’s the treasure to me. because when we get in this industry, we don’t really have people who we can count on, who we can go to. We get so far in this industry that you lose contact,” said the rapper. “So, to have somebody like you to stay in my life and to be there for me and my family means the world to me, Charlie.”
Charlie Wilson underwent the highs of fame and the lows – after the success of The Gap Band, he struggled with addiction and homelessness for most of the 1990s. That decade, however, would see him revitalized through being featured on numerous tracks by Hip-Hop artists and a solo career. He’d earn 13 Grammy Award nominations, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, and a Soul Train Icon award. Wilson also successfully overcame prostate cancer in 2008 and is now a Prostate Cancer Foundation spokesperson.
“I’m still here to be able to tell my story and be able to dance and sing and have a good time on the stage,” said Wilson. “All the things I’ve ever prayed for, they all came to pass. I really sort of am Superman — I’m faster than all of the speeding bullets that came after me.”
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Photo: Getty
To audience chants of “we want the funk; we gotta have that funk,” George “Dr. Funkenstein” Clinton received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
His star, the 2769th, is located at 6752 Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Musicians Institute. Speaking at the ceremony on Friday (Jan. 19) were Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, civil rights attorney Ben Crump and songwriter Janie Bradford.
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As the mastermind behind the legendary bands Parliament/Funkadelic, Clinton steered the way across the cosmos to such classics as “(I Wanna) Testify,” “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” “Star Child (Mothership Connection),” “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk),” “Flash Light,” “Aqua Boogie,” “One Nation Under a Groove,” “(Not Just) Knee Deep” and “Atomic Dog.” Along the way, Clinton also influenced a diverse range of artists from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Kendrick Lamar.
Acknowledging all the members of his bands over the years, Clinton said, “Lots of them are here, lots of them not. But for all of them I say thanks and I’m blessed to be representing a bunch of funky mothers. Thank you, Hollywood!”
Here are some additional soundbites from Clinton’s star ceremony:
Clinton: Noting to audience laughter that he was going to read his speech “because I’m so emotional and ain’t no way in hell I’m going to remember all this s—,” the newly minted Hollywood Walk of Fame inductee called it an “honor to receive a star alongside the many notables from the world of entertainment. The old fans and new fans who let the music move their souls; you all know who I’m talking about [because] I’ve always said it’s the people who make the funk. [Also] thank you to the Omega Psi Phi fraternity] brothers who adopted ‘Atomic Dog’ as their national anthem and keeping it relevant for over 40 years. Damn! 40 years. Now as we drop the star, let it be a symbol not just for George Clinton but for the power of the funk, the power of unity of one nation under a groove. This acknowledgement does not mark a destination or even a pause because we’re still going forward. I was encouraged by [artists] like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, De La Soul, 2Pac, Kendrick Lamar, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers and all those who said funk inspired them. They used the DNA of funk and that inspired me to go on in my fight for musical rights — thank you, Ben Crump — and not just for me but for all [artists’] rights that have been mishandled.”
Kiedis: “Welcome to the corner of Hollywood & George,” joked the RHCP shared that he first learned about George Clinton when a fellow student at Los Angeles’ Fairfax High brought Parliament’s Chocolate City album to school for show and tell. Years later in 1985, the Peppers released their Clinton-produced album Freaky Styley. “For me personally, George became an instant friend, teacher, mentor, a father figure, a co-conspirator, instigator. I love George Clinton with all my heart,” Kiedis concluded before leading the audience in a singalong of a “small spiritual hymn” as he warbled the chorus to “P. Funk”: “Make my funk the P-Funk / I wants my funk uncut …”
Crump: “Now more than ever in the world, we need music that brings us all together. And nobody’s music brings us all together quite like this brother’s brings us together — one nation under a groove. This brother got brothers and sisters all across the globe coming together through the Mothership Connection. He got people in Europe, Australia, Africa and North America walking around in daytime with a flashlight looking for the P-Funk. That’s why we celebrate the one and only, the iconic George Clinton: the father of funk music, Dr. Funkenstein himself.”
Bradford: Looking back at the ’70s heyday of Funkadelic, Bradford pointed out that Clinton “announced his retirement in 2018 and today in 2024, George [at 82] is still working [touring, readying three recording projects and painting]. “My kids think I’m cool because I know George Clinton. I think I am blessed that he is my friend and I am his. Congratulations, George!”