WSJ
MARCH 15, 2011, 11:30 AM ET
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony: The Best Lines
The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony was held last night at the Waldorf-Astoria, where the inductees included Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Darlene Love, Tom Waits, Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman and two bearded, gravelly-voiced piano players, Leon Russell and Dr. John. We’ve gathered some of the best lines of the night, from inductees and presenters:
“I’m particularly glad to be hear because now at least when you Google ”˜Bette Midler’ and ”˜Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’ something will come up.” Bette Midler, who introduced Darlene Love
“They were more than a band; they were like a gang of murderous drag queens.” – Rob Zombie introducing Alice Cooper.
“There’s always that ”˜Spinal Tap’ moment” – Alice Cooper, after trying to exit the stage the wrong way.
“The man is indescribable and I’m here to describe him.” – Neil Young introducing Tom Waits.
“I want to know if there’s a keychain version of this.” – Tom Waits, accepting his trophy.
“Neil was known as the Jewish Elvis Presley. Which is a lot better than being the Jewish Fabian. In fact, in synagogues across America, Elvis Presley was known as a bogus Neil Diamond.” – Paul Simon introducing Neil Diamond.
“These are the $3,000 tickets. My people can’t afford the $3,000 tickets. They’re up there with the $2,000 tickets.” – Neil Diamond, giving a shout out to vocal fans in the balcony.
“What have I learned? For starters, you can get back more records than you sold. And there’s no such thing as fixing it in the mix.” – Jac Holzman
