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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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With her induction into the annals of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night (Oct. 19), Cher made sure to set expectations early on: “This speech is gonna be such a crapshoot — I wrote it the other day, and then I rewrote it tonight, and I’m dyslexic,” she declared.

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A crapshoot it was not — across her presentation at the annual ceremony, Cher stunned the crowd at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with renditions of “If I Could Turn Back Time” and “Believe” — the latter featuring special guest Dua Lipa — before cedeing the stage to Zendaya, who introduced her idol with aplomb. “Where do I even begin?” the actress said, dressed in an outfit inspired by one of Cher’s many Bob Mackie looks. “There is not one person in this room, in this country, and pretty much in this world who doesn’t know the name of the artist I am here to honor tonight. She’s so iconic, she only needs one name.”

In a video tribute, stars appeared to pay tribute to Cher, including Cyndi Lauper, Shania Twain and P!nk, with the latter making it abundantly clear that the mononymous singer was a “f–king rockstar.”

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But once into her speech, Cher made it clear that her induction was never guaranteed: “It was easier getting divorced from two men than it was getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” she cracked. “I want to thank my guardian David Geffen, because he wrote a letter and sent it to the directors, and now, ha ha, here I am!”

While the singer made sure to occasionally make fun of herself (“I’m a good singer, not a great singer,” she cracked), she didn’t shy away from acknowledging her impact throughout her decades-spanning career. In one particular highlight, the star looked back on how her biggest songs nearly didn’t happen.

“[With] ‘Believe,’ I changed the sound of music forever, and it was an accident. My producer and I were having a fight, with my producer saying, ‘Cher, do it better,’” she recalled. “I said, ‘Dude, if you want it better, get a different singer.’ He called me later and said, ‘Cher, I’ve been playing around with the pitch machine, and I think I’ve got something.’ I went back and listened to it, and when it was over, we both jumped up and high-fived each other. And then the head of my record company said ‘we can’t do that because no one will know it was you.’ And I said, ‘Yes, that’s the deal! That’s the great part!’”

Cher also recalled the advice that she had been given by her mother from a young age that guided her career to where it is today. “She said to me, ‘You might not be the prettiest, you might not be the smartest, you might not be the most talented, but you’re special,’” she said. “She kept instilling it into me: ‘If you’re down and you’re out, you get up again.’”

Smiling at the crowd, Cher made sure that the women in the audience had heard her. “The one thing I have never done, is I never give up. And I am talking to the women, okay — you guys are on your own,” she offered with a smirk. “We have been down and out, but we keep striving, and we keep going and we are somebody. We are special, as my mother would say.”

Cher was just one of the icons honored at Saturday night’s event — fellow inductees included Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne, Kool & the Gang, A Tribe Called Quest, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner and Peter Frampton.

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The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame celebration has carried over into football. On Sunday (Oct. 20), the Cleveland Browns will host the Cincinnati Bengals in a first-of-its kind Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Game at Huntington Bank Field.

The Bengals vs. Browns game, which is set to feature performances from previous Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount+.

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“We are thrilled to partner with the Cleveland Browns to highlight the massive impact and influence of our Inductees on rock & roll, the music that connects us all,” Greg Harris, president & CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum said in a statement. “The first ever Cleveland Browns Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Game will be an exciting feature of our 2024 Induction Week when the national spotlight shines on Cleveland.”

See below for the best ways to stream the game from anywhere.

How to Watch & Stream the Bengals vs. Browns Game Live Online

Where to watch: CBS

Where to stream: DirecTV, Sling TV, Fubo, Hulu + Live TV, Paramount+

The Browns will take on the Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday. You can stream CBS and other channels live on DirecTV Stream, Fubo, Sling TV and Hulu + Live TV (use ExpressVPN to stream internationally).

The game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

If you’re interested in a free trial, you can score one through DirecTV Stream and Fubo. In addition to a free trial, both Fubo and DirecTV offer discounted streaming packages.

For example, DirecTV Stream’s cheapest plan has over 90 channels and it’s on sale for $87 (down from $102). Join Fubo for just $60 per month, which saves you $20 off the regular price. Fubo’s Pro streaming plan includes access to 199 channels.

In addition to Paramount+, the Bengals vs. Browns game will be available to stream on NFL+.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame game will pay homage to inductees through music, giveaways, special merch and fan activations.

Foreigner, one of this year’s inductees, will headline the halftime show. Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde will join teenage guitar phenom and Cleveland native Max Stak for a special performance at the end of the game’s third quarter. Wylde will also perform the national anthem.

Ohio native Robert “Kool” Bell, of Kool & the Gang, will serve as coin toss captain. Ozzy Osbourne is also scheduled to participate in the fan fun.

“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Browns together embody the passion of our city. We are thrilled to partner with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for their 2024 Induction Week with this special first-time collaboration on Sunday,” said Brent Rossi, SVP of marketing & media at Haslam Sports Group. “Before and throughout the game, we will highlight this year’s Inductees in a number of different ways, connecting our fans with the history of rock & roll in Cleveland through football.”

There was a little bit of drama as inductees began arriving and rehearsals started in Cleveland on Thursday (Oct. 17) for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony as word spread that two original members of Foreigner – including founder Mick Jones – will not be attending this weekend.
Jones, who founded Foreigner during 1976 in New York, is battling Parkinson’s disease, which will keep him away from the festivities.

Drummer Dennis Elliott posted a note to Facebook that he would also not be attending the event, where the band will be inducted after receiving its first nomination this year. Elliott – who was with the band from 1976-1993 – wrote, “Dear Foreigner Fans & Friends. Don’t look too hard, we will not be there. We were finally given the schedule last night, and it is not to our satisfaction. So we are staying home. We have been asking for weeks, and they have waited until the very last minute to send it knowing we were all packed and going to bed. Totally unacceptable to us. Hope you have a good time.”

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Sources in Cleveland tell Billboard that one specific point of contention was that only band members were to walk the red carpet before the show, without their spouses.

The group did issue a statement via its social media saying, “FOREIGNER is greatly looking forward to Saturday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The band will be joined by Demi Lovato, Sammy Hagar, and Kelly Clarkson in a set celebrating the induction of the guys who started it all almost fifty years ago. Original members Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, and Rick Wills will be there to accept the awards on behalf of the band’s leader and founder Mick Jones, drummer Dennis Elliot, and Ian McDonald and Ed Gagliardi who are no longer with us.”

Members of the current Foreigner lineup are expected to perform during the ceremony on Saturday at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, which will be streamed live on Disney+.

Fans responding to Elliott offered support, with one writing “this is very sad news” and another calling it a “travesty.”

Foreigner, eligible since 2002, was long considered one of the Rock Hall’s greatest slights over the years. The group has sold more than 80 million records worldwide, with hits such as “Feels Like the First Time,” “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Juke Box Hero” and “I Want to Know What Love Is.” Foreigner finished third in the fan vote, with 528,000.

Foreigner will be part of a class of 2024 that also includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, the Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest in the performer category.

In less than a month, a genre-spanning batch of legends will join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2024. On Wednesday (Sept. 25) morning, the Rock Hall revealed the list of performers and presenters who will be on hand at the Oct. 19 ceremony.

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Take a deep breath: Busta Rhymes, Dr. Dre, Demi Lovato, Dua Lipa, Ella Mai, James Taylor, Jelly Roll, Julia Roberts, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, Lucky Daye, Mac McAnally, Method Man, Roger Daltrey, Sammy Hagar, Slash and The Roots will all be present at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio (which isn’t too far from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Cleveland headquarters).

It’s not yet known which performers and presenters are attached to which 2024 Rock Hall inductees. The Class of 2024 includes Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest in the performers category. In the musical influence category, Alexis Korner, John Mayall and “Big Mama” Thornton will be inducted; all three pioneers are deceased, with Mayall dying at the age of 90 this July, just three months after his induction was announced.

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Additionally, Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield enter the Rock Hall in the musical excellence category. Suzanne de Passe will be given the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2024 induction ceremony will livestream on Disney+ on Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. ET. ABC will air a primetime special featuring the evening’s biggest moments on Jan. 1, 2025, at 8 p.m. ET, which will be available on Disney+ and Hulu on Jan. 2.

The Ohio House of Representatives will designate June 11 as Mojo Nixon Day through a bi-partisan resolution in a general session on Tuesday (June 11), according to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website. In addition, the General Assembly of Representatives will deliver a proclamation to Nixon’s family recognizing the longtime southern Ohio resident for his contributions […]

“Honestly, I broke into tears when they told me,” says longtime Motown executive Suzanne de Passe about the moment she learned that she would be receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award at this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, taking place Oct. 19 in Cleveland.

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That reflected the many reactions coming from inductees after the Rock Hall’s Class of 2024 was revealed on Sunday (April 21) night’s episode of American Idol on ABC. Joy, exultation and even some surprise was expressed by those headed into the Rock Hall this year, whether in the voted-on performers category or those receiving this year’s musical excellence awards.

Robert “Kool” Bell is happy to explain why Kool & the Gang, an R&B band with several pop hits, belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Speaking to Billboard via Zoom, with bottles of his branded champagne sitting alongside to presumably, er, celebrate the induction, Bell says that “I did 48 shows with Van Halen, 10 shows with Kid Rock, opened for the Dave Matthews Band, Elton John, Rod Stewart. I also worked with Foreigner…If you’re gonna call it a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame then, yeah, I guess you could say that I feel like a rock n’ roller.”

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Bell is, of course, the last remaining member of Kool & the Gang’s original lineup and says his departed bandmates, including his brother Ronald Bell, would be pleased with the Rock Hall honor. “We’ve been to a lot of different ones,” Bell notes, including a 2018 induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. “It’s great to finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. All the guys would love it.” Kool & the Gang’s Rock Hall honor comes 60 years after the band’s formation in New Jersey, and 55 years after its self-titled debut album.

Ozzy Osbourne, who was inducted with Black Sabbath in 2006, tells Billboard via email that being honored for his solo career “feels big. I’m more than honored.” He says the induction for his own work, which began with the Blizzard of Ozz album in 1980 “feels different than with Sabbath because my solo career, it’s been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole…I feel like I was invited to a party in 1980, and it hasn’t stopped. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band.” Osbourne, who’s effectively retired from touring due to a variety of health issues, including Parkinson’s disease, says he’s not sure about performing at the ceremony but will be there, in attire that “most certainly will be black.”

Peter Frampton tells Billboard that he’s “a little bit shock, and speechless” after learning the news of his induction. He was also stoked about finishing second behind the Dave Matthews Band in the fan vote, with 528,000. “It’s an honor people regard me in this way. I’m just blown away,” said Frampton, who had encouraged fan voting during his recent tour by flashing a QR code for the vote on the video screen at his concerts. “It’s quite uncanny we would be touring during the public voting, so every night I could hopefully get a few hundred out of the couple of thousand, three thousand that were in the audience. And it made a difference.”

Foreigner founder Mick Jones told Billboard in an exclusive interview that, “It’s a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years.” He added that despite waiting more than 20 years since the band became eligible, “I certainly haven’t been overly consumed by it. Every year was the same thing, so eventually I didn’t really worry about it…I’ve had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top.”

Jones, who’s battling Parkinson’s disease, was also “very grateful” to son-in-law Mark Ronson’s video campaign on Foreigner’s behalf, which enlisted luminaries such as Paul McCartney, Slash, Jack Black, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others to express their surprise and indignation that Foreigner hadn’t already been inducted. “I wasn’t totally aware of the extent to which he saw this through…I had a good laugh seeing Paul’s Instagram post.” Jones added that he plans to attend the ceremony in October but hasn’t decided if he’ll play or not. Original Foreigner frontman Lou Gramm previously told Billboard that he plans to be there and expects to perform the Billboard Hot 100 topper “I Want to Know What Love Is” and one other song.

The MC5’s musical achievement Award is “bittersweet” in the wake of co-founder Wayne Kramer’s death on Feb. 2 at the age of 75, according to his widow, Margaret Saadi Kramer. “Perhaps even the exact right thing at precisely the wrong time,” noted Kramer, who manages MC5 affairs and co-founded the Jail Guitar Doors initiative with her husband. “Yet I’m certain he would have landed in gratitude for this recognition and received it like the beautiful free radical he was, an underdog victorious.” Three other MC5 members — Rob Tyner, Fred Smith and Michael Davis — have also passed, leaving only drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson.

Wayne Kramer did finish working on a new MC5 album, Heavy Lifting, which is due out later this year and features guests such as Thompson, Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Alice in Chains’ William DuVall, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath and Don Was. It will be packaged with a live recording of the all-star MC50 band during 2018 in the MC5’s hometown of Detroit.

Suzanne de Passe, who is still active as a TV and film producer since her days with Motown, said she’s “truly blown away and honored,” and that the Ahmet Ertegun Award means even more to her because she saw her mentor, Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr., receive it back in 1987. “Berry Gordy gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” says de Passe, whose time at Motown included shepherding the careers of the Jackson 5, Lionel Richie and others as well as producing the Emmy-winning Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and specials for the company’s 30th and 40th anniversaries. She also produced miniseries about the Temptations and Jacksons as well as Lonesome Dove and other projects.

“I really learned a lot and was able to go out on a limb in some cases and either rise or fall, but never not be in a position of learning and growing,” she says. “I’m very, very grateful for the career I’ve had and the opportunities that have come my way because of that launching pad.”

She’s also happy to be honored alongside Motown songwriter-producer Norman Whitfield, whom she knew well and calls “one of the funniest people I ever met, a born comedian. We worked together a lot and I learned a lot from Norman. He really took me under his wing and taught me a lot about working in the studio. We had a great relationship.”

Berry Gordy issued a statement celebrating the honors for both of his Motown charges on April 21.

“Today marks a moment of intense pride as two members of the Motown Family will be honored at the upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Awards, Suzanne de Passe and Norman Whitfield,” reads Gordy’s statement. “I want to congratulate, Suzanne, my protégé and longtime friend, on being selected to receive the prestigious Ahmet Ertegun Award! Suzanne’s vision and passion contributed to Motown’s success. Every task I ever threw at her, she not only accomplished, but exceeded my expectations. Suzanne went from being my creative assistant, helping to launch the careers of Michael Jackson, the Jackson 5, Lionel Richie, the Commodores and more, to co-writing a screenplay for Lady Sings the Blues, for which she received an Oscar nomination. Suzanne has great instincts, a sharp wit, and a creative sense that has made her a formidable player in the entertainment world. I continue to be extremely proud of her.

“I am also so thrilled that Norman Whitfield, whom I consider a true musical genius and one of Motown’s most important creative forces, has been selected for the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame’s musical excellence award. His brilliant body of work was versatile and bold. He had early collaborations like Marvin Gaye’s ‘Pride and Joy’ and the Temptations’ ‘Just My Imagination.’ He had numerous No. 1 hits, including two with the same song, ‘I Heard It Through The Grapevine,’ back to back on two artists – Gladys Knight & the Pips and Marvin Gaye. Then, with his ear to the streets, he took the Temptations and Motown in a whole new direction. Norman’s music reflected the social consciousness of the times with songs like ‘Ball of Confusion,’ ‘War,’ ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone.’ His incredible body of work makes him one of the most important creative forces of his time.”

Mick Jones could be excused for feeling a bit bitter about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ignoring Foreigner for more than two decades of eligibility. But now that the group will be part of the class of 2024 this October, Jones — who put Foreigner together back in 1975 in New York — says he’s feeling “quite the opposite.”

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“I think it means more to me now than perhaps 20 years ago,” Jones tells Billboard exclusively, via email due to a struggle with Parkinson’s disease that he revealed in February. “I’ve had a great career, and this is like the whipped cream and cherry on top. It’s something I will savor over the years. It’s a great honor to be included amongst all these great artists that have been inducted over the years.

Jones, 79, adds that despite Foreigner fans’ very vocal frustration at the band’s exclusion, he himself has kept a measured perspective about the prospects. “Occasionally it might have entered my mind,” he says. “I certainly haven’t been overly consumed by it. Every year was the same thing, so eventually I didn’t really worry about it. My dear friend Peter Frampton had been passed over all these years; I don’t think he has been overly consumed by it either.”

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Foreigner finished third in the Rock Hall’s fan vote this year, behind the Dave Matthews Band and Frampton, with more than 527,000 total votes. That was partly assisted by a video campaign by Jones’ son-in-law Mark Ronson, who recruited musical friends such as Paul McCartney (“Foreigner? Not in the Hall of Fame? What the f–k?!”), Dave Grohl, Slash, Jack Black, the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith and others expressing disbelief that the group wasn’t yet in.

“I am very grateful for the time and effort Mark has put into this,” Jones says. “I wasn’t totally aware of the extent to which he saw this through. He reached out to a lot of people to post their support on social media. I had a good laugh seeing Paul’s Instagram post.”

Jones isn’t alone, of course, in celebrating Foreigner’s impending induction. Rick Wills, who was Foreigner’s bassist from 1979-1993, tells Billboard, “We’re more than thrilled. It’s been over 20 years since we’ve been waiting for this day. I suppose we were frustrated, to be perfectly honest, but we tried to hide it as best we could because we didn’t want to appear like we were sad people. (laughs). I mean what else could you do but what we’ve done already with our music, and what people have appreciated and enjoyed? We didn’t understand why we didn’t get that recognition.”

And original frontman Lou Gramm told Billboard last month that he “had given up that we would ever be considered” but would happily serve if elected. “I was not feeling good that our peers were in years ago and we were completely neglected…I didn’t even think about it anymore, to be honest with you, so (the nomination) was a big surprise to me.”

Gramm recently brought up past issues with Jones over songwriting credits and financial issues but is looking forward to being with the band and performing at the induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland. And Jones says Gramm, with whom he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame with in 2013, will be welcomed with open arms.

“On a personal level I have no hard feelings toward Lou,” Jones says. “We did perform together at the 40th anniversary concert. It has been so many years now since Lou left Foreigner; I like to think that those ill feelings are in the past. There is power in letting go of hard feelings and getting on with your life. Why carry the burden of hard feelings? It serves nothing in the long run. I do plan to attend,” Jones adds. I’m sure my whole family will be there. As to whether I get up on stage and perform hasn’t really been decided as yet. In some ways it might be nice just to be there to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy being inducted.”

Jones says he deals with his Parkinson’s “day to day. Keeping my chin up and making the best of everything. Fortunately, my Parkinson’s isn’t debilitating like it is for some people. My friend Michael J. Fox has been such an inspiration and advocate to find a cure for this disease. I do hope they find the answer soon. Like any disease it’s a quality-of-life issue. With all the research my family and assistant has done, I’ve been able to stick with a healthy lifestyle and exercise program that I think helps stymie the progression of my Parkinson’s.”

It’s also allowed him to continue working — not on stage with Foreigner, of course, but there may be new material in the offing. “There are a number of songs that are demos I wrote with Lou,” Jones says. “A couple of them are quite promising. Some written with Marti (Frederiksen) are lying around. I’ve been going through cassette tapes of demos; some I think don’t deserve to see the light of day.” Jones adds that he’s also finished mixing and mastering a solo album, Shelter From the Storm, that he hopes to release “at some point soon.”

Foreigner, meanwhile, is in the midst of an open-ended farewell tour that will likely extend into 2025 and may even include occasional performances or residencies after the road work is done. And Jones affirms he’s still comfortable with that decision. “It’s expected that all good things must come to an end. When Foreigner does retire it’s because the guys in the band have given so much of themselves and have reached a time in their lives where they want to have an easier life and spend more time with their families. There are so many demands being in a successful rock band.”

Peter Frampton says news of his long-awaited Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction “hasn’t really sunk in yet.” But he’s still thrilled that the honor is upon him after 52 years of eligibility as a solo artist.

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“I think I’m a little bit in shock, and speechless,” Frampton tells Billboard with a laugh from his home in Nashville. “I never expected this. People always said, ‘You should be in.’ I said, ‘Eh, what is to be,’ y’know? So mixed emotions, because it’s something that I just never expected, whereas other people did for me. (laughs) It’s wonderful.”

Frampton is particularly stoked that he also finished second in the fan vote with 528,000 — second only to the Dave Matthews Band. “You never quite know how you are regarded,” Frampton explained. “I don’t think about that; I just do my thing. But ending up in the number two position blew me away, actually. It’s an honor people regard me in this way. I’m just honored and blown way.”

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Of course, Frampton did his part, too; during his most recent concert tour he spoke about the nomination, putting a QR code up on the video screen to take fans to the voting site in real time.

“That was wonderful,” he recalls. “Every night when I said, ‘I got this phone call a couple months ago…and my managers told me I’m being nominated for the Rock….’ I never got out ‘Fame’ — they just went berserk, the audience, every night, and it made me feel like, ‘Well, they think I deserve to be in.’ So that was very, very nice from the word go. It’s quite uncanny we would be touring during the public voting, so every night I could hopefully get a few hundred out of the couple of thousand, three thousand that were in the audience. And it made a difference.”

Frampton regards the 2024 Rock Hall lineup as “a wonderful class to be involved with,” with many personal connections. He and Foreigner founder Mick Jones, for instance, go back to sessions for French singer Johnny Hallyday when Jones was his musical director and songwriter; Jones subsequently played on “All I Want To Be (Is By Your Side)” on Frampton’s 1972 debut album, Wind of Change. And Foreigner’s lineup included Rick Wills, who also played bass in Frampton’s Camel. “I was hoping they would get in, too,” Frampton says. “I figured they would, but you never know, so I’m thrilled.”

In the musical influence category, meanwhile, Frampton played with Alexis Korner during the mid-‘60s and was also a fan of John Mayall. “I was in the front row at the Flamingo and all the clubs, watching Eric (Clapton) and so many other guitar players — Peter Green, Mick (Taylor) from the (Rolling) Stones, so that means a lot to me,” Frampton notes. “It’s just amazing that (Mayall) was a spawning ground for so many great English guitar players.”

Frampton – who began as a teen star in England before achieving worldwide fame in the band Humble Pie and especially with his Frampton Comes Alive album in 1976 — has begun thinking loosely about the induction ceremony night on Oct. 19 in Cleveland, though with no concrete plans yet. “I’m thinking about people to invite to play with me and all that kind of stuff he says,” noting that number one on the list will be Sheryl Crow, who “championed” Frampton by including him in her induction performance last year in Brooklyn.

Meanwhile, Frampton — who continues to work in defiance of the degenerative inclusion body myositis (IBM) disorder he’s been battling during the past six or so years — is continuing with his other work. He’s planning a trip to England during June as well as a filmed concert performance for the career documentary he’s been working on. He’s also writing songs for a new album, his follow-up to 2021’s instrumental set Frampton Forgets the Words. “It’s just got to be the best one I’ve ever done,” he says. Another leg of touring is also a possibility, he says, “but I don’t know when that’s going to be at this time. We’re still looking at availabilities and things like that.”

All is sweetness and light between Ozzy Osbourne and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the Prince of Darkness prepares for his second induction — this time as a solo artist.

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Osbourne, you may remember, tried to get Black Sabbath taken off the 1999 nominations list, calling the nod “meaningless.” But he happily went in with the band in 2006, and he tells Billboard via email that to become one of the Rock Hall’s multiple inductees “feels big. I’m more than honored.”

The honor comes after his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne called out the Rock Hall last year for not considering Ozzy as a solo artist even though he’s been eligible since 2006. Osbourne began that career after leaving Black Sabbath acrimoniously in 1979 and scoring eight consecutive multi-platinum albums starting with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980. On his own he’s also released iconic songs such as “Crazy Train,” “Flying High Again,” “Bark at the Moon,” “Shot in the Dark” and “No More Tears.”

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“I definitely wouldn’t say I was confident” about solo success, says Osbourne, adding that the 2021 induction of Randy Rhoads, his late songwriting partner, in the musical excellence category “made me feel we could be on to something. With every new music venture there’s always a certain amount of surprise that comes when you see the fans embrace it, because no one wants to make a record and have it flop. I feel like I was invited to a party in 1980, and it hasn’t stopped. Not bad for a guy who was fired from his last band.”

Comparing this induction to Sabbath’s “feels different,” Osbourne says, “because my solo career, it’s been a much larger part of my overall music career as a whole.” And after finishing fourth in the fan vote with more than 480,000 votes “feels more special, and I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels that way.”

The big question, of course, is whether Osbourne will perform at the induction ceremony on Oct. 19 in Cleveland. Though he’s effectively retired from touring due to a variety of health issues, including Parkinson’s disease, Osbourne continues to speak about performing again in some capacity. Could it be a two- or three-song set for the Rock Hall? “You never know,” he says, only promising that his outfit that night “will most certainly be black.”

Osbourne has remained prolific as a recording artist, meanwhile, releasing two albums so far this decade — Ordinary Man in 2020, Patient Number 9 in 2022 — and is intending to do more. “I’m not putting a timetable on it,” Osbourne says, “but I plan to start working on a new album sometime in the near future.”

What’s more rock n’ roll than American Idol? Well, a few things, but the Sunday (April 21) episode of the long-running singing competition series found Ryan Seacrest and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie revealing which artists constitute the Rock Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024. (The episode featured the 12 remaining contestants […]