A 2018 photo of Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, in Cape Town, South Africa, in “Avicii — I’m Tim” (Photo courtesy of Candamo Film/Avicii Music AB/Netflix)
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Avicii — I’m Tim” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few African Americans and Asian people) who are friends, colleagues or family members talking about life and career of Avicii, the Swedish electronic dance music (EDM) artist whose real name was Tim Bergling, died by suicide (cutting himself with glass) in 2018, at the age of 28.
Culture Clash: Avicii was one of the top EDM artists in the world, but he struggled in with mental health and addiction issues at the height of his fame.
Culture Audience: “Avicii — I’m Tim” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Avicii and 2010s EDM/pop music.
Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, in “Avicii — I’m Tim” (Photo courtesy of Netflix)
“Avicii — I’m Tim” is a bittersweet documentary about this talented artist but it omits a lot of details about his life, even with rare archival interviews. It’s ultimately a cautionary tale about how fame and fortune cannot erase mental health struggles. Through archival recordings, Avicii (whose real name was Tim Bergling) is the narrator of the documentary, which gives the movie a haunting quality but serves as a vital voice for an overall conventionally made but effective biography film.
Directed by Henrik S. Burman, “Avicii — I’m Tim” had its world premiere at the 2024 Tribeca Festival. Netflix is releasing the documentary on the same day (December 31, 2024) as the Avicii concert film “Avicii — My Last Show,” which was filmed in 2018 at Ibiza’s Ushuaïa. “Avicii — I’m Tim” is told in chronological order and has the expected mix of archival footage mixed with interviews that were done exclusively for the movie.
Avicii (pronounced ah-vee-chee)/Tim Bergling was born on September 8, 1989, in Stockholm, Sweden. As he says in previous interviews, he had a very sheltered childhood, which was centered on just a five-block radius in his Stockholm neighborhood. He was the son of Klas Bergling (a manager of an office supply business) and actress Anki Lidén. Avicii’s mother and father provide some of the commentary in the documentary. Avicii’s three siblings—David Bergling, Linda Sterner and Anton Körberg—are not interviewed in the movie. In 2019, Avicii’s family established the Tim Bergling Foundation, to help with suicide prevention and people struggling with mental health issues.
“Avicii — I’m Tim” begins with a montage of Avicii’s career highlights. He can be heard saying in a voiceover: “I’ve always wanted to make timeless music. I feel like I’m filled with music. It’s my life’s biggest passion.” As a child, he says he was a class clown to avoid getting bullied. He also says he became nicer to people after a teacher told him that he had a reputation for being a snitch.
Tim began making music by remixing songs when he was 8 years old. He had diverse tastes in music, but eventually was most attracted to electronic dance music (EDM) because the technology gave him more freedom to experiment on his own. However, even before he became famous, Tim/Avicii knew he needed to find collaborators because he had no aspirations to be a singer.
In his teenage years, one of his earliest music collaborators was his best friend at the time: Flip “Philgood” Akeson, one of the people interviewed in the documentary. Akeson says that teenage Tim was “shy” and “very anxious. We were polar opposites.” Akeson adds, “He was a geek, to be honest.” Bergling chose the stage name Avicii (respelling of Avīci), which means “the lowest level of Buddhist hell.” Akeson says that he and Avicii drifted apart as Akeson went into a self-described “downward spiral” of drug addiction.
It was during these formative years that Tim developed his “night owl” lifestyle because less people bothered him at night. Tim soon caught the attention of Arash “Ash” Pournouri, who became Tim’s manager and is one of the people interviewed in the documentary. By all accounts, Pournouri becoming Tim’s manager was the turning point for Tim, who was too introverted to be a self-promoter. Pournouri’s unshakeable ambition and confidence to make Avicii a rich and famous artist, combined with Avicii’s prodigious talent, proved to be an unbeatable combination.
The rest of “Avicii — I’m Tim” chronicles Avicii’s rapid rise from EDM star to mainstream celebrity who could sell out arenas and festivals as a headliner DJ/artist. (His best-known hits are 2011’s “Levels” and 2013’s “Wake Me Up.”) He also became an in-demand producer and remixer with a reputation of not being afraid to experiment musically. But with success came enormous pressure to work as much as possible and continue making several hits.
Akeson says that when he knew Avicii, Avicii was very much against drugs, even marijuana. Toward the end of his life, Avicii had gone public about being in rehab for alcohol addiction and pills. Avicii’s anxiety also got worse in dealing with the demands of fame. As he says in an archival interview: “I was a lot happier before I was famous than after I was famous.” On April 20, 2018, Avicii committed suicide (cutting himself with glass) in Muscat, Oman, while he was on vacation.
Although “Avicii — I’m Tim” has a lot of talk about Avicii’s personal struggles and his career achievements, there’s not enough information in the documentary about what was really done behind the scenes to get him the help that he needed. Pournouri (who parted ways with Avicii in 2016) makes vague comments about people trying to do the best they can to help Avicii. Jesse Waits (a Las Vegas nightclub entrepreneur) says of Avicii: “He was very fragile and insecure. He was like a little brother to me.”
The movie, without explanation, also never talks about Avicii’s love life or how he dealt with fans/hangers-on who wanted to date him. Someone in Acivii’s position obviously gets this type of attention. (Waits tells a brief story of how he met Avicii when Avicii and two women used Waits’ home as an overnight crash pad.) But the documentary refuses to even mention any former lovers he had who might have known about his personal challenges and who possibly tried to help him. Did Avicii ever fall in love? That’s a question the documentary won’t answer.
Most of the people interviewed in “Avicii — I’m Tim” are people who knew Avicii because they had a business relationship with him. They include Per Sundin, CEO of Universal Music Nordic Region; singer Aloe Blacc; DJ/artist David Guetta; Neil Jacobson, A&R executive at Interscope Records; Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay; country singer Dan Tyminski; music producer songwriter Nile Rodgers; Sony Music Publishing executive Johnny Tennander; songwriter/producer Carl Falk; musician/songwriter Mike Eizinger; music journalist Katie Bain; musician Salem Al Fakir; and singer/songwriter Joe Janiak.
In 2016, Avicii announced that he was taking a hiatus from touring because he was exhausted and wanted to work on his mental health. When people experience this type of burnout, they often feel like they are being treated like workhorse robots in their life. By refusing to show a full picture of who was in Avicii’s support system at the lowest points in his life, “Avicii — I’m Tim” sidelines some of his humanity. But with his voice as the narration, some of that humanity is retained instead of being drowned out by the documentary’s talking heads who profited from knowing Avicii in some way.
Netflix will premiere “Avicii — I’m Tim” on December 31, 2024.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Luther: Never Too Much” features a predominantly African American group of people (with a few Latin and white people) discussing the life and career of R&B singer/songwriter/producer Luther Vandross, who died from stroke complications in 2005, at the age of 54.
Culture Clash: Vandross had public and private battles over racism, his weight and his sexuality.
Culture Audience: “Luther: Never Too Much” will appeal primarily to his fans and people who are interested in documentaries about famous singers.
A 1980s archival photo of Luther Vandross in “Luther: Never Too Much” (Photo by Don Hunstein/Sony Music/Giant Pictures)
Conventionally made but still enjoyable, the documentary “Luther: Never Too Much” tells a very laudatory version of Luther Vandross’ life. More insight was needed for what he liked to do when he wasn’t working, but it’s an overall competent biography. The movie is an expected mix of archival footage with exclusive interviews filmed for the documentary. The interviewees are mostly Vandross’ friends and colleagues.
Directed by Dawn Porter, “Luther: Never Too Much” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and made the rounds at several other film festivals in 2024, including Hot Docs and the Tribeca Festival. The movie focuses almost entirely on Vandross’ career and has the bare minimum of information about who he was apart from being an entertainer. “Luther: Never Too Much” has an impressive group of interviewees, but die-hard Vandross fans will not learn anything new about him from this documentary, except maybe seeing some rare archival footage.
Vandross was born in New York City on April 20, 1951. He was the fourth and youngest child of Luther Vandross Sr. (who was an upholsterer and singer) and Mary Ida Vandross, who was a nurse. Luther Sr. died of diabetes when Luther Jr. was 8 years old. According to the documentary, Mary Vandross believed that Luther Jr. inherited his father’s musical talent.
And like his father, Luther Jr. had diabetes, which caused Luther Jr. to have health issues for his entire life. Luther Jr. was a child prodigy in music and knew from an early age that he wanted to be a singer. He learned to play the piano by ear at the age of 3. As he grew older, he became a prolific songwriter, but he wasn’t able to fully showcase his songwriting talent until he became a solo artist.
“Luther: Never Too Much” skips over most of Vandross’ childhood. Don’t expect the documentary to reveal what types of relationships he had with his siblings or what he was like in school. Instead, there is brief archival interview clips of Vandross saying that he had a happy childhood where he never felt deprived, and he felt safe and loved.
His singer idols when he was a child were Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Dionne Warwick. As a famous artist, he produced two albums for Franklin: 1982’s “Jump to It” and 1983’s “Get It Right.” Vandross produced Warwick’s 1983 album “How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye.” Vandross also did backup vocals for Ross and was a guest performer at two concerts (one in New York City, one in Philadelphia) that Ross did in 2000. Vandross said in many interviews that the music and culture of Motown Records had a huge influence on him as a child.
The documentary’s stories about Vandross before he became famous are mostly when he was a teenager. As an aspiring singer who lived in New York City, Vandross was able to regularly attend and learn from shows at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood. Musicians/singers Fonzi Thornton, Robin Clark and Carlos Alomar (who are all interviewed in the documentary) were friends and collaborators with Vandross, beginning from their teenage years and through their adulthoods.
Vandross became known for his suave and soulful vocals and his romantic songs, but he didn’t start out as a solo artist. He got his earliest experiences as a professional singer by being a member of singing groups. As a teenager, Vandross was in a group with Thornton and Alomar called Shades of Jade, which performed once at the Apollo. Even in these early years, Vandross had a clear vision of the stylish image that he wanted as an entertainer.
Thornton tells a story about how Vandross insisted that the members of Shades of Jade wear a certain type of green shoes that cost $23 per pair at the time. Thornton says that Thornton’s mother initially refused to pay that amount of money for the shoes. But somehow, after Vandross had a conversation with Thornton’s mother, she changed her mind. Thornton says with admiration: “He was a boss from the beginning.”
Shades of Jade didn’t last. But as a young adult in the late 1960s, Vandross went on to get his first big break as part of a theater singing group of men and women called Listen My Brother, which had many songs about Black Pride and was managed by Apollo Theater leaders. Thornton, Clark and Alomar were also members of Listen My Brother, which had 10 to 16 members. One day, “Sesame Street” puppeteer Jim Henson saw Listen My Brother perform and was so impressed, he got the group booked on “Sesame Street” for several episodes during the show’s first season in 1969. It was the type of exposure that led to Listen My Brother getting bigger and better gigs.
Even though Vandross clearly had a unique voice and exceptional talent, Vandross was prevented from being a frontman in the confines of Listen My Brother. “He wasn’t the top dog,” according to Alomar, who blames it on the entertainment industry’s tendency to give preference to slender entertainers who fit conventional beauty standards. Alomar candidly says that Vandross had limitations put on his career aspirations because of bias against Vandross’ physical appearance: “He was too black and too heavy.”
After Vandross graduated from William Howard Taft High School in New York City in 1969, he attended Western Michigan University, but he dropped out after less than a year to pursue a career as a professional singer. According to Thornton, Vandross’ mother wasn’t too upset about him being a college dropout because she believed that her youngest child had a special talent as a singer and he was destined to become a star.
Unfortunately, “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t say much else about Vandross’ family during his formative years as a professional singer, particularly when it comes to his mother, who seemed to be his biggest supporter at this time. Vandross’ niece Seveda Williams is interviewed in the documentary, but she makes mostly generic comments about Vandross’ work ethic and talent.
During the 1970s, Vandross became an in-demand backup singer and a singer for commercial jingles. As an up-and-coming artist, he was influenced by 1970s Philadelphia soul music, as exemplified by hits written and produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff for artists such as the O’Jays, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, and Teddy Pendergrass. It was during this time that Vandross began to hone his skills as a musical arranger and producer.
Vandross’ first “crossover” hit as a backup singer was working on David Bowie’s 1975 “Young Americans” album, where Vandross can be heard prominently on the album’s title track. Vandross met Bowie through Alomar, who was Bowie’s longtime guitarist/backup singer. Clark and Alomar (who have been married since 1970) are among the backup singers on Bowie’s “Young Americans” album. The documentary includes some rare archival footage of Vandross and Bowie in these recording sessions.
Ava Cherry, who worked with Bowie as a backup singer on the “Young Americans” album and other collaborations, is one of the people interviewed in the documentary. Bowie encouraged Vandross’ songwriting talent and co-wrote the “Young Americans” album track “Fascination” with Vandross. “Fascination” was originally a Vandross song called “Funky Music (Is a Part of Me).”
Vandross also had success as a backup singer for numerous other artists, including Bette Midler, Roberta Flack, Chic and Sister Sledge. But he made even more money as a singer/songwriter for commercial jingles for company brands such as Juicy Fruit, Miller Beer, Gino’s and Löwenbräu, just to name a few. As seen in archival interviews, Vandross said he used a lot of the lucrative income that he made as a jingle singer/songwriter to fund his own demo recordings, with the hope of getting a record deal where he could perform songs that he wrote, arranged and produced.
Vandross eventually got record deals as the frontman for a group named Luther and later for a group called Change, while still maintaining a career as a backup singer. Flack is the person who is credited the most with encouraging Vandross to make the leap to become a solo artist. It wasn’t easy because he got rejected by every major label. But after getting a second chance from a different person at Epic Records, Vandross signed with Epic as a solo artist. And that’s when his career took off and never looked back.
His first solo album—1981’s “Never Too Much”—was a hit and featured the title track as his breakout solo single. The cadence of the song was unusual for R&B hits at the time and was an example of Vandross’ determination to stand out from other R&B singers. Most of Vandross’ songs were about the joys and heartbreak of love. Don’t expect the documentary to reveal the inspirations for most of these songs, since Vandross was secretive about his love life.
Nat Adderley Jr., who was Vandross’ music director at the time, comments in the documentary about the first time he heard the “Never Too Much” song: “It sounded so different than anything on the radio, but I didn’t [think] it would be a hit.” The documentary has some commentary on how Vandross created and recorded his music. But considering all the great songs that he wrote and produced, “Luther: Never Too Much” does not have enough information about this aspect of his artistry as a songwriter and a producer.
Several people in the documentary also say that in addition to his recordings, Vandross was very particular and specific about every aspect of his live performances. He personally chose the elaborate costumes for his backup singers and the type of theatrical-inspired productions he wanted to bring to his concerts. His own personal fashion sense on stage can be described as being a Vegas performer and cabaret singer.
Vandross had a steady string of hits for the rest of his solo career. His best-known songs include 1986’s “Stop to Love”; 1989’s “Here and Now” (for which he won his first Grammy Award in 1991, after previously being nominated nine times); 1991’s “Power of Love/Love Power”; 1992’s “The Best Things in Life Are Free” (a duet with Janet Jackson); a 1994 cover version of “Endless Love” (a duet with Mariah Carey); and 2003’s “Dance With My Father.”
With all of this success, Vandross still had deep insecurities about his physical appearance. In several interviews, he said he was an “emotional eater” who used food to cope with anxieties and stresses in his life. His weight drastically fluctuated and was the topic of many jokes and interview questions. (The documentary includes a 1980s clip from an Eddie Murphy stand-up comedy show where Murphy pokes fun at Vandross’ weight.) Publicly, Vandross mostly took this type of scrutiny in stride. Privately, it all bothered him immensely.
There was also gossip abut Vandross’ sexuality. Although he never publicly stated his sexual identity, Vandross (a lifelong bachelor with no kids) was a mostly closeted gay man who was afraid to come out of the closet because he knew it would upset his mother and hurt his career. “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t mention anything about anyone whom Vandross dated, although some of that information is publicly available elsewhere. It was only after Vandross died that people who knew him felt comfortable to publicly admit that he was gay.
Vandross usually ignored or refused to confirm or deny media reports about his sexuality. People he dated when he was famous also kept quiet about his sexual identity by not talking to the media about their experiences with him. However, one rumor that he vehemently denied was that he had AIDS. The documentary mentions that Vandross sued a British magazine in 1985, because the magazine claimed that AIDS, not dieting, was the reason for his weight loss that year.
A huge reason for Vandross’ reluctance to publicly admit his homosexuality is because so much of his image was about being a singer whose songs were the soundtracks of many heterosexual people’s love lives. Jamie Foxx (one of the documentary’s producers) comments on the effect that Vandross’ music had on people’s romances: “Back in the day, if you wanted to fall in love, you let Luther do the work for you.”
The only thing that anyone in the documentary will say about Vandross’ personal life as a celebrity was that he was unlucky in finding lasting love with a romantic partner. Vandross’ former personal assistant Max Szadek says that Vandross’ 1988 song “Any Love” (a bittersweet ballad of wanting any love that is offered) was Vandross’ favorite song because it was autobiographical for Vandross. Vandross co-wrote “Any Love” (the title track from his 1988 album) with Marcus Miller, a frequent collaborator with Vandross as a songwriter and bass player in Vandross’ band. Miller is one of the people interviewed in the documentary.
Szadek says he saw firsthand how lonely Vandross’ life was behind the scenes, which is why Szadek says “Any Love” became difficult for Szadek to hear the more he got to know Vandross. As for Vandross being coy and vague with the public about his love life, Szadek will only say, “I think he couldn’t share all of himself.” Szadek gets tearful later in the documentary when he remembers finding Vandross unconscious from a stroke in Vandross’ New York City home in 2003. The documentary gives almost no information—aside from brief archival interview clips of Vandross—about Vandross’ recovery process after he had his stroke, such as how he lost and regained his ability to walk.
Racism was another struggle that Vandross had, according to singer/songwriter Richard Marx, who collaborated with Vandross on “Dance With My Father.” Marx says in the documentary that Vandross would privately confide in him about how record companies that had contracts with Vandross would give him lower budgets and less support than white artists who were at the same level of celebrity as Vandross. Vandross also had frustrations about being pigeonholed as being an artist for mostly black audiences, when Vandross believed that his music appealed to people of all races.
Music mogul Clive Davis signed Vandross to Davis’ now-defunct J Records in 2000, after Vandross left Epic Records and had a brief one-album stint with Virgin Records. Davis is interviewed in the documentary but only comments on the race issue by saying an obvious fact: Radio can be very racially segregated. It’s a missed opportunity that the documentary did not get Davis to comment on how record-company racism affects artists, especially since Davis was in charge of one of the record companies that signed Vandross.
Even though people in the documentary explicitly say that Vandross felt he got racial discrimination from record companies, you get the feeling that Davis didn’t comment on this issue in “Luther: Never Too Much” because the documentary filmmakers were too afraid to ask Davis. “Luther: Never Too Much” has a reluctance to dig deeper and reveal uncomfortable truths about Vandross’ life. It’s a celebrity documentary that stays in the comfort zone of having interview soundbites that do nothing but praise the celebrity.
Some of the soundbites are nice but utterly bland. Vandross’ “Endless Love” duet partner Carey says predictable things about Vandross such as, “I was really honored when he brought me out to sing with him.” Warwick says in the documentary about Vandross’ tribute to her at the 1986 NAACP Image Awards, where he performed “A House Is Not a Home” and she got tearful in the audience: “He really showed out that night.” These are perfectly pleasant soundbites but ultimately say nothing interesting or informative.
Other people interviewed in the documentary include Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers, singer/songwriter Valerie Simpson, music journalist Danyel Smith, music executive Jon Platt, commercial producer Deborah McDuffie and backup singer Kevin Owens. Rodgers gives credit to Vandross for helping shape Chic’s catchy disco sound. “Luther Vandross’ vocals played a big part,” Rodgers comments in the documentary.
Even when “Luther: Never Too Much” mentions a big tragedy in Vandross’ life, the documentary leaves out important details. On January 12, 1986, Vandross was driving a car in Los Angeles, with two passengers in the car: his then-protégé Jimmy Salvemini (a singer who was 15 years old at the time) in the back seat and Larry Salvemini (who was Jimmy’s older brother/manager) in the front seat. Vandross was speeding (driving 50 mph in a 35 mph zone) when he crossed over a double line and collided with another car going in the opposite direction.
Larry was killed in this accident, while Vandross and Jimmy were injured. Vandross’ most serious injuries were a broken hip and three broken ribs, while Jimmy had bruises and cuts. Vandross was facing a charge of vehicular manslaughter, but it was reduced to a charge of reckless driving, after no evidence was found that drugs or alcohol were involved in the accident. Vandross pleaded no contest to reckless driving. His driver’s license was suspended for a year.
The documentary’s brief mention of this car accident is mostly about how Vandross felt guilty about the accident and had to take a hiatus to recover from his injuries. The documentary does not mention how this tragedy affected the Salvemini family. That doesn’t mean anyone in the Salvemini family had to be interviewed for the documentary. However, the documentary definitely downplays or ignores how this accident affected anyone other than Vandross.
What “Luther: Never Too Much” doesn’t mention is that the Salvemini family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Vandross. The case was settled out of court with a reported $630,000 payment to the Salvemini family. There is no reason for a documentary to omit this big fact about the accident except to deliberately leave out unflattering information about the celebrity who’s the subject of the documentary. It’s really unnecessary to try to gloss over or pretend that this lawsuit didn’t exist when it’s public information and part of Vandross’ life.
In interviews, Vandross admitted that food was his biggest addiction. Some of the people who knew Vandross say in this documentary that he was also addicted to work. Lisa Fischer, who was a backup singer for Vandross from the mid-1980s until his 2005 death, remembers him as a “taskmaster” who was inspiring to work with as an artist but who demanded that his subordinates have grueling work schedules with very little free time.
Vandross’ workaholic tendencies no doubt affected his personal life. But because this documentary refuses to give or discuss any information on how Vandross liked to spend his free time, it leaves noticeable voids of unanswered questions. “Luther: Never Too Much” works best as a documentary for people who want an overview of Vandross’ public persona and his extraordinary talent as an entertainer. But for people who want a complete story of who Vandross was as a person, “Luther: Never Too Much” is not that documentary, even though it offers a few glimpses into some of his private pain.
Giant Pictures released “Luther: Never Too Much” in select U.S. cinemas on November 1, 2024. CNN will premiere the movie on January 1, 2025.
Culture Representation: Taking place in New York City and Secaucus, New Jersey, the documentary film “Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York” features a nearly all-white group of people (with a few African Americans and Latinos) representing the middle-class and wealthy and discussing the first decade of pop radio station Z100 New York, which launched in 1983.
Culture Clash: Z100 started off in last place in New York City’s radio ratings, but in just two-and-a-half months, it became the top-rated station in the area, largely due to radio personality Scott Shannon and his then-unorthodox methods of increasing an audience.
Culture Audience: “Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York” will appeal mainly to people who are interested in radio success stories, but the documentary leaves out a lot of truths about the radio business and the music industry.
A 1980s archival photo of Scott Shannon in “Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York” (Photo courtesy of Gunpowder & Sky)
WHTZ, the New York City pop music radio station better known as Z100, is arguably the most influential pop-music radio station in the United States. (It can be heard on the FM frequency at 100.3 in the New York City metro era.) “Worst to First: The True Story of Z100 New York” is a documentary that takes a look at back at the origins of Z100 and how it went from “worst to first” in the radio ratings for the New York City metro area. “Worst to First” is really a tribute to Scott Shannon and his Z100 reign in the 1980s, rather than a comprehensive look at all of Z100’s history. The movie has flawed editing and diversity problems, but ultimately it’s lightweight nostalgia with entertaining stories.
“Worst to First” director Mitchell Stuart has a history with Z100, since he has directed footage for some of the radio station’s star-studded Z100 Jingle Ball concert events. (Stuart occasionally appears on camera in this documentary when he’s talking to Shannon.) Elvis Duran, who is currently the most famous on-air personality at Z100, is a producer of this documentary. Duran is also interviewed in “Worst to First.” If you know that information when watching this Z100 lovefest, you’ll have a better understanding of why this movie looks very biased in talking about things that only make Z100 look good, and not anything dirty or sordid that went on behind the scenes.
Still, “Worst to First” (which has a brisk total running time of 64 minutes) capably achieves its intent to show fondness for Z100 and how the radio station started off as an underdog that many people thought would never reach the heights that Z100 reached. One of the main reasons why the documentary is watchable is because of Shannon, who is a very engaging raconteur with a sense of comedic wit that can be a little cocky and rebellious. Shannon is clearly intended to be the star of the movie, because he gets the most credit for bringing Z100 to the top of the ratings in 1983, the year that the station launched. He left Z100 in 1989, and he has continued to work as a radio DJ.
Shannon, who was one of Z100’s original staffers, was the leader of the radio station’s morning-show team. Born in St. Louis in 1947, and raised near Indianapolis, Shannon came from a military family (his father was in the U.S. Army), so all the moving around that a military family has to do helped prepare him for his career in radio. Almost all radio DJs who are serious about making radio a long-term career have to frequently move from job to job and city to city to pay their dues and try to advance to larger radio markets.
Shannon was no different, and he eventually landed at WRBQ (Q105) in Tampa, Florida, where he and co-host Cleveland Wheeler led “The Q Morning Zoo” show. This “morning zoo” concept (one to three hosts who lead a team of sidekicks for a morning show) has been copied by hundreds of radio stations, but WRBQ is credited with being the first to have this concept. In “Worst to First,” Shannon says that he quit WRBQ around the same time that Milton Maltz, CEO of Malrite Communications, recruited Shannon to be part of the start-up team at a new radio station called WHTZ, nicknamed Z100.
At the time, Z100 was headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, which was considered a suburban void (compared to New York City) for the media and music industries. However, Z100’s radio signal (just like other radio stations in the New York City area) came from New York City’s Empire State Building, for a reach that extended from New York City to Long Island to parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. Not only was Secaucus considered out of the way for people in the entertainment industry, but Z100’s first office space was also drab and less-than-impressive, according the former Z100 staffers in the documentary.
Shannon says that he almost didn’t take the job because the unnamed executive who interviewed him was very condescending when asking Shannon during the interview: “What makes you think that you’re ready for the biggest [radio] market in the country?” Shannon’s response? “I got up, I threw my little booklet at him, and I walked out.”
According to Shannon, just as he was about to leave in the elevator, Malrite Communications CEO Maltz saw Shannon, who told him why he was leaving. However, Maltz persuaded Shannon to take the job. Shannon quips in the documentary: “Then, I realized I didn’t know anything about New York.” (Maltz is not interviewed in “Worst to First,” but the documentary has an interview with Malrite Communications vice president of programming Jim Wood, who essentially confirms this story.)
Duran comments on Shannon’s arrival as a DJ in the New York City metro area: “Scott came in not knowing anything about New York City, and I think that gave him the edge. He wasn’t scared by the city. You could tell he wasn’t from around these parts. I think that’s what made him stand out. He surrounded himself with a lot of caring, trusting people who not only communicated well with the audience, but they elevated him.”
Among the former Z100 staffers interviewed in the film are original “Z Morning Zoo” cast members Prof. Jonathan B. Bell, Ross Brittan, Claire Stevens, Anita Bonita and Cathy Donovan. Bell comments on the first time he heard about Shannon: “He had been described to me as a nutcase from Tampa, Florida, who walked around wearing shorts all the time. And somehow, he was going to revolutionize New York radio.”
Also interviewed are former Z100 DJs/hosts/personalities Sean “Hollywood” Hamilton, Patty Steele and “Magic” Matt Alan. And these former Z100 DJ/hosts/personalities are mentioned, although they are not interviewed in the documentary: Mr. Leonard (the alias of John Rio), J.R. Nelson, Jack the Wack, Janet From Another Planet and Dr. Christopher Reed. Mr. Leonard and his high-pitched voice persona had the reputation of being an eccentric who rarely went to the studio and called into the station instead when he was on the air.
Former Z100 employees who are interviewed in the documentary include Gary Fisher (Z100 director of sales from 1983 to 1987 and Z100 vice president/general manager from 1987 to 1992); Fank Foti (Z100 head engineer from 1983 to 1987); Michael Ellis (Z100 music director from 1983 to 1984); Ken Lane (Z100 promotion director from 1983 to 1989); Steve Kingston (Z100 program director from 1989 to 1996); and Tom Poleman (Z100 program director from 1997 to 2005 and currently iHeartMedia president of national programming).
Nile Rodgers (Chic co-founder, Grammy-winning producer and New York City native) says that radio in the early 1980s underwent this transition in a post-punk and post-disco world: “Basically, what was happening at radio, the way I saw it, was they could extract one lane that they thought was really working, and they would just format a whole show or station like that.” In other words, radio formats were becoming increasingly fragmented.
John Sykes, iHeart Media president of entertainment enterprises and a co-founder of MTV, comments on the state of New York City radio at the time that Shannon arrived on the scene: “There was a segment of New York radio that had gotten lazy.” Some of the heavy-hitters in the New York City market at the time include WPLJ (which changed from rock to pop/Top 40 in 1983); news/talk station WOR; WNBC, which had star hosts Don Imus and Howard Stern; WBLS, a longtime R&B/urban music powerhouse; and WKTU, whose specialty was dance music.
Z100’s biggest competitor at the time was obviously WPLJ. Shannon came out swinging in this fight. One of the first things he did to shake things up was announce to the audience that Z100 was in last place and that they needed help in getting to the top of the ratings. It was unheard of at the time for any radio station to publicly admit how bad its ratings were. Shannon encouraged listeners to make Z100 posters and other merchandise and to tell their friends about Z100.
Audience members were given incentives and rewards if they gave Z100 the names and contact information of people whom they told about Z100 and who pledged to listen to the station. It’s exactly the type of viral marketing that’s commonplace today on the Internet and social media. But, of course, the Internet and social media didn’t exist in 1983. Z100 also used some tried-and-true promotional gimmicks, such as giving away cash to listeners in sweepstakes and contests.
Shannon also did what was considered taboo in radio back then: He began personally insulting Z100’s radio rivals on the air. Perhaps the biggest target was WPLJ program director Larry Berger, whom Shannon began to call Larry Booger. Ironically, Shannon later worked at WPLJ, from 1991 to 2014. Berger, who left WPLJ in 1988, died in 2018.
Former Z100 VP/GM Fisher comments on Shannon’s tactics to get to the top of the ratings: “Scott is the best radio attack dog. He does his best work when he had a target.” The Z100 irreverence didn’t just come from Shannon. Kingston says that as, a prank, he went to the WPLJ studios with boxes of bumper stickers that said, “I Brake for Larry Berger.” He put several of these bumper stickers all over WPLJ vehicles and inside the WPLJ offices.
Even though people might think Shannon had a somewhat rude approach to surpassing his rivals, some of his past and present colleagues say that this brashness was all part of his radio persona and that his real personality was much more laid-back. Donnie Ienner, former CEO of Sony Music, remembers that he first met Shannon in 1972, when Shannon was DJ at WMAK in Nashville. At the time, Shannon was going by the DJ name Supershan and had his hair styled to look like early 1970s Elvis Presley. Ienner adds, “Privately, Scott is very demure and very quiet. And as soon as that microphone goes on, he’s on.”
Shannon is also praised in the documentary for his genuine passion for music. (What the documentary doesn’t mention is Shannon’s short-lived stint in a pop/rock duo called Wildfire, which had a minor hit song called “Here Comes the Summer” on Casablanca Records in 1977.) Shannon says he got into rock music when he was in his mid-teens, and he was hooked ever since. He also mentions in the documentary that he also grew to appreciate pop, R&B and other music genres.
Sony Music Entertainment chief creative officer Clive Davis says that Shannon’s genuine love of music set him apart from many other DJs who seemed to care more about crafting comedy personas: “Love of music allows you to be different, to not be totally predictable, and for that contagious spirit to come through.” In the documentary, Jon Bon Jovi also says that he appreciated the Z100 team for being true music fans, and for not making him feel like “a cog in the wheel” when it came to promoting his music at radio.
Shannon and other people talk about how Madonna (before she was famous) kept pestering Z100 to play her 1983 single “Holiday.” She would frequently call the station and would sometimes show up unannounced, in an effort to get Z100 to play her music. One day, she demanded to speak to Shannon on the phone. Shannon remembers that Madonna told him in that conversation that if Z100 played “Holiday,” she promised to do something special for Z100 when she became famous.
Z100 then played “Holiday,” and the rest is history. Madonna kept her promise, by giving Z100 exclusive radio access to the Times Square premiere of her 1987 movie “Who’s That Girl,” where Z100 did a live show. Shannon calls it one of the “greatest days” in his time at Z100. No one in the documentary mentions that “Who’s That Girl” was a huge flop at the box office, although Madonna did have some hit songs from the soundtrack.
Because of Z100’s headquarters location in Secaucus (which Z100 hosts cheekily tried to underplay, by saying they were broadcasting from the top of New York City’s Empire State Building), Z100 initially had a hard time convincing celebrities to go to the station for in-person interviews. Tony Orlando, who’s interviewed in the documentary, was Z100’s first celebrity guest, who was booked almost by a fluke, because a junior Z100 employee just happened to be a volunteer at a charity event hosted by Orlando. In the documentary, Geraldo Rivera and Joe Piscopo also weigh in with their thoughts on Z100.
The antics of the Z100 team and the free promotion and publicity that Z100 was getting from its rapidly growing fan base led to Z100 going from “worst to first” in the ratings in just 74 days. It was an unprecedented feat in New York City radio. Jim Kerr, who was a WPLJ morning DJ from 1974 to 1989, remembers after WPLJ switched to a pop/Top 40 format in 1983: “We were ready for our climb right to the top. And then, out of nowhere, came Scott Shannon.”
Shannon soon became a national celebrity. In 1984, he began hosting the nationally syndicated weekly series “Scott Shannon’s Rockin’ America: The Top 30 Countdown” on Westwood One. (This series was on the air until 1992.) National TV shows such as “Good Morning America” and “Entertainment Tonight” began featuring the “Z Morning Zoo” team in stories about why Z100 had such a meteoric rise to the top.
It’s undoubtedly an inspirational story, but it’s told from a very calculatedly safe bubble designed to shut out some harsh realities about problems in the radio industry and the music industry. There’s no mention of radio payola scandals in the 1980s. There’s no mention of racism and sexism. There’s no mention of rampant abuse of drugs and alcohol. In addition, “Worst to First” has some editing and sound mixing that are rough around the edges and a little bit amateurish.
An example of an edit that does this documentary a disservice is a disjointed interview segment with manager/producer/Blackheart Records co-founder Kenny Laguna, who’s best known for his association with rocker Joan Jett. (Jett is interviewed in the documentary too, but she doesn’t say much except generic comments about how happy she was to hear her music on the radio.) Laguna tells a story about a botched promotion for one of Jett’s 1980s singles, which he does not name. Laguna says that he hired a plane to fly outside the Z100 studios with banner that read: “Dear Scott, Please play Joan Jett. Love, Ken.”
The problem was that the pilot “flew the plane over the wrong part of Secaucus. And Scott didn’t see the plane,” says Laguna. And then that’s the end of the story. Why put that story in the documentary if there’s no follow-up answers to these questions: “Did Laguna do another plane stunt to correct the mistake? And if so, did Shannon see the message, and what did he think?” The story is just left to dangle with no follow-through or conclusion.
Another out-of-place edit is having Gavin DeGraw as one of the artists interviewed in the documentary. DeGraw was a child in the 1980s, he didn’t grow up in the New York City metro area, and he didn’t become a famous artist until his 2003 debut album “Chariot.” What is he doing commenting about Z100 in a documentary about Z100’s 1980s history? It makes no sense. The documentary even shows DeGraw expressing surprise when he says says that he didn’t know that Shannon was one of the original members of the Z100 team. It’s an irrelevant interview that should have been left out of the documentary.
In addition to some questionable editing decisions for content, some of the technical editing decisions don’t flow smoothly at all, with a few cringeworthy jump cuts. And considering that “Worst to First” director Stuart has experience in directing music shows, it’s disappointing that the sound mixing is uneven, with the volume on some interviews jarringly louder than others. It’s not too much of a distraction, but it’s noticeable.
However, one of the best things about “Worst to First” is the archival footage, much of which hasn’t been seen in years. In addition, the filmmakers interviewed people from various aspects of the media and the music industry outside of Z100. Other people interviewed include author/former New York Daily columnist David Hinckley; journalist/historian Jimi LaLumia, Columbia Records senior vice president of adult radio promotion Pete Cosenza; and Scott Shannon’s wife, Trish Shannon.
A significant flaw in the documentary is how it completely erases women of color. No women of color are interviewed in the documentary. That’s partially because no women of color were on the Z100 decision-making team. But former Z100 staffers aren’t the only ones interviewed in the documentary. Artists and music executives were interviewed for this documentary too, but the filmmakers chose not to include any women of color from these parts of the industry either.
In an era when Grammy-winning music superstars Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Gloria Estefan were riding high on the pop charts and on Z100’s playlists, these women of color are not even mentioned in the documentary. The filmmakers probably wouldn’t be able to get Turner, Jackson or Estefan for interviews, just like Madonna (who’s mentioned quite a bit in the documentary) wouldn’t be available. But if the filmmakers bothered to include faded pop stars such as Debbie Gibson and Taylor Dayne for the documentary interviews, then they could’ve interviewed some women of color who were pop stars in the 1980s too. The filmmakers probably didn’t even make the attempt.
Surely, the filmmakers could’ve gotten at least one of these women of color artists for interviews: Salt-N-Pepa, Jody Watley, Jeanette Jurado from Exposé, Ruth Pointer from the Pointer Sisters, Lisa Lisa, or sisters Kathi Wolfgramm, Elizabeth Wolfgramm and Moana Wolfgramm from The Jets. Surely, the filmmakers could’ve interviewed women of color who’ve been influential music executives in the 1980s and beyond, such as Suzanne de Passe (formerly of Motown) or Sylvia Rhone, who’s been the president or chair/CEO of several record companies in her illustrious career, including Epic, Motown/Universal Motown, Elektra Entertainment Group and EastWest Records. The bottom line is that women of color were excluded from this documentary. When people talk about women of color being overlooked or sidelined, this documentary is an example of how it happens.
The documentary also completely ignores the obvious prejudices that women overall have to deal with in radio. Male radio hosts are allowed to be overweight, have gray and white hair and/or a lot of face wrinkles and jowls, but female radio hosts usually are not given this leeway in their physical appearance. Just look at the lineups of commercial radio station talent if you don’t believe this sexist double standard exists. (Non-commercial radio, which isn’t a slave to advertisers, tends to be more inclusive regarding what female radio hosts look like, but non-commercial radio has bigotry issues too.) Some people might say that when it comes to hiring people as radio hosts, audiences aren’t supposed to care what radio hosts look like. In reality, this belief only applies to male radio hosts, who benefit the most from this double standard.
The one token African American on the original “Z Morning Zoo” team was Bell, a light-skinned man, who had a “sidekick” job and was never put in charge of making the programming and hiring decisions. Because no one wants to admit on camera that they’ve been racist and sexist in employee decisions, these uncomfortable and truthful topics are kept out of a documentary designed to be a tribute. People who benefit the most from these prejudices are also the ones who tend to ignore this bigotry, condone this bigotry, and/or practice this bigotry the most. It’s not the 1980s anymore, when these issues were more likely to be swept under the rug.
It’s why “Worst to First,” for all of its jovial stories, looks like a whitewashed film made from a fan-worship perspective, instead of a documentary made by people with journalistic or truth-seeking standards. “Worst to First” is entertaining enough if people want a relatively short and fluffy breeze-through of 1980s nostalgia. However, there’s a lot more to the story that braver and more honest documentaries would have mentioned or included.
Gunpowder & Sky released “Worst to First: The True of Z100 New York” on digital and VOD on February 11, 2022.
The following is a press release from the Songwriters Hall of Fame:
Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee Nile Rodgers was unanimously elected Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame by the SHOF Board of Directors at the annual board meeting. Rodgers will serve as Chairman for a three-year term following Kenneth Gambleand Leon Huff, who were Co-Chairs for the past three years.
“Nile is respected and admired by his fans and his peers alike for his multi/cross-genre music and for being a musical pioneer,” said Linda Moran, SHOF President and CEO. “More importantly, Nile’s eloquence in talking about songwriting and its process makes him the ideal voice for the songwriting community as Chairman of the SHOF.”
”I am truly honored and beyond humbled to be elected by such an esteemed group as this illustrious board,” Nile Rodgerscommented. “I will try and serve with all my heart. I hope I can make you half as proud of me as I am to even sit in the room with you who’ve done so much for the furtherance of composition. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve the songwriting community.”
Officers elected include Senior Vice President David Israelite, Secretary Mary Jo Mennella and Deputy Secretary April Andersonwho will serve alongside President and CEO Linda Moran, CFO and Treasurer Tom Kellyand Senior Vice PresidentsBeth Matthews and Mike O’Neill. Randy Grimmett was elected a member of the Board of Directors joining Robbin Ahrold, Martin Bandier, Caroline Bienstock, Desmond Child, Linda Lorence Critelli, Charlie Feldman, Fletcher Foster, John Josephson, Evan Lamberg, Nancy Munoz, Matt Pincus, Jon Platt, Irwin Robinson, Don Schlitz, Karen Sherry, John Titta and Paul Williams.
About Nile Rodgers:
Among music legends, Nile Rodgers is truly exceptional. He amplifies his legacy as a multiple GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. As the co-founder of CHIC, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak,” (the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records!) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times.” Nile Rodgers transcends all styles of music across every generation with a body of work that’s garnered him inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2017) and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2016).
Most recently, he was appointed as the first ever Chief Creative Advisor for the legendary Abbey Road Studios to cap off a year that has included “festival best” performances at both Glastonbury and Coachella that resulted in the BBC nominating the band for the BBC Music Awards as “Best Live Performance Of 2017” and the LA Times stating “Nile Rodgers influence stretches all over Coachella, beaming the sound of a better future”.
His work in the CHIC Organization and his productions for artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Sigala, Disclosure, and Sam Smith reflect the vanguard of contemporary music. Nile Rodgers & CHIC will be releasing their first new album in 25 years, “It’s About Time” on September 14, 2018.
About The Songwriters Hall of Fame:
The Songwriters Hall of Fame celebrates songwriters, educates the public with regard to their achievements, and produces a spectrum of professional programs devoted to the development of new songwriting talent through workshops, showcases, scholarships and Master Sessions at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and at Stuyvesant High School. West Coast educational activities are held at The GRAMMY Museum, which hosts the permanent Songwriters Hall of Fame Gallery, and at the University of Southern California. Out of the tens of thousands of songwriters of our era, there are approximately 400 inductees who make up the impressive roster enshrined in the Hall of Fame.A songwriter qualifies for induction 20 years after the first commercial release of a song. The list of inductees include Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller, Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier & Brian Holland, Smokey Robinson, Paul Williams, Hal David & Burt Bacharach, Billy Steinberg & Tom Kelly, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes & David Porter, Carole King, Paul Simon, Billy Joel, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora, Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Brian Wilson, James Taylor, Don Schlitz, Bruce Springsteen, Phil Collins, Alan & Marilyn Bergman, Loretta Lynn, Jimmy Webb, Van Morrison, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Garth Brooks, Diane Warren, Carole Bayer Sager, Stevie Wonder, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry, Mac Davis, Leonard Cohen, Ray Davies, Cyndi Lauper, Desmond Child, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm, Elvis Costello, Marvin Gaye, Nile Rodgers & Bernard Edwards, Lionel Richie, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond, Jay Z, Tom Petty, Toby Keith, Max Martin, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Berry Gordy, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Robert Lamm & James Pankow, Bill Anderson, Steve Dorff, Jermaine Dupri, Alan Jackson, Kool & The Gang, John Mellencamp and Allee Willis, among many others.
Full biographies and a complete list of inductees are available on the Songwriters Hall of Fame website at https://www.songhall.org. Joining online is quick and easy: https://www.songhall.org/join.
Eddie Vedder and Matt Cameron of Pearl Jam at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
by Carla Hay
The 32nd Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony—which took place April 7, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York—featured several on-stage reunions for inductees such as Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which have all had numerous lineup changes over the years. Highlights of the show will be televised in a special that premieres on HBO on April 29, 2017, at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. An exhibit for the 2017 inductees went on display March 31 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. More than 900 voters picked inductees, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Artists are eligible for inclusion 25 years after the release of their first recording.
Here’s a rundown of the ceremony:
ELO
Jeff Lynne of ELO at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Band members inducted: Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Roy Wood, Richard Tandy. (Tandy and Bevan did not attend the ceremony for reasons that have not been publicly disclosed.)
Inducted by: Dhani Harrison, son of George Harrison. ELO leader Jeff Lynne worked with George Harrison several times as a producer and as a fellow member of the Traveling Wilburys.
Songs performed: “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Evil Woman,” “Mr. Blue Sky”
One of ELO’s earliest hits was the band’s 1972 cover version of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven,” so it was fitting that the band played the song as a tribute to Berry who died on March 18, 2017, at the age of 90. Lynne accepted the induction award on stage with ELO co-founder Roy Wood, who quit the band in 1972, a year after the band’s first album was released. Wood and Lynne have not appeared on stage together in decades. Wood, however, did not perform at the ceremony.
Lynne has been recording and touring as the leader of Jeff Lynne’s ELO since 2014. Tandy is a member of Jeff Lynne’s ELO, while Bevan formed the spinoff band ELO Part II in the 1980s, after ELO’s most successful lineup disbanded. ELO has been revived off and on over the years; there was a short-lived revival in 2001 and the group was revived again in 2014, with Lynne and Tandy as the only original members.
Joan Baez
Joan Baez (center) with Mary Chapin Carpenter (left) and Amy Ray of Indigo Girls (right) at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Inducted by: Jackson Browne
Songs performed: “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” “Deportee” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.” For the latter two songs, Baez was joined on stage by Mary Chapin Carpenter and Indigo Girls guitarist Amy Ray.
Yes
Steve Howe of Yes at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Members inducted: Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Tony Kaye, Trevor Rabin, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman, Alan White
Inducted by: Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson of Rush, a band heavily influenced by Yes’ brand of progressive rock.
Songs performed: “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” “Roundabout.” Yes was joined on stage for the performance by former lead singer Anderson and Rush’s Lee.
Tupac Shakur
YG and Snoop Dogg perform a tribute to Tupac Shakur at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Inducted by: Snoop Dogg, who used to be on the same record label as Shakur, who was murdered in 1996.
Songs performed: Several artists did a tribute medley of Shakur songs. Alicia Keys performed “I Ain’t Mad Atcha.” “Dear Mama” and “Changes,” while Snoop Dogg and YG performed “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.” Treach of Naughty by Nature then did “Hail Mary,” while T.I. performed “Keep Ya Head Up.”
Journey
Neal Schon of Journey at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Band members inducted: Steve Perry, Neal Schon, Gregg Rolie, Ross Valory, Aynsley Dunbar, Steve Smith, Jonathan Cain. All of them attended the ceremony.
Inducted by: Pat Monahan, lead singer of Train, another successful rock band from San Francisco.
Ex-Journey singer Perry, who left the band in 1987, gave an emotional speech, in which he thanked the fans: “Speaking of fans, you’re the one who put us here. You’re the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Perry did not perform with Journey at the ceremony, but former Journey keyboardist Rolie joined the band on stage for “Lights,” which Journey dedicated to Perry. Journey’s current lineup consists of lead singer Arnel Pineda, guitarist Schon, keyboardist Cain, bassist Valory and drummer Smith.
Nile Rodgers
Inducted by: Pharrell Williams, who worked with Rodgers on the Daft Punk album “Random Access Memories.”
Rodgers, a Grammy-winning producer and founder of Chic, was given the Award for Musical Excellence. The rest of the artists were inducted in the Performers category.
Prince tribute
Lenny Kravitz at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Prince died on April 21, 2016, 12 days after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony that year. A tribute to Prince was done for the 2017 ceremony. Lenny Kravitz performed the Prince songs “When Doves Cry” and “The Cross.”
Pearl Jam
Members inducted: Eddie Vedder, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Dave Krusen. All of them attended the ceremony.
Inducted by: David Letterman, who substituted for the originally announced presenter Neil Young.
Songs performed: “Alive,” “Better Man,” “Given to Fly,” “Rockin’ in the Free World.” Former Pearl Jam drummer Krusen joined Pearl Jam on stage to perform “Alive.” For “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Pearl Jam was joined on stage Yes’ Trevor Rabin; Rush’s Lee, Lifeson and Neil Peart; and Journey’s Schon and Cain.
David Letterman inducts Pearl Jam at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Steve Perry (former lead singer of Journey) at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Theo Wargo/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Pat Monahan of Train inducts Journey at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Snoop Dogg inducts Tupac Shakur at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Rick Wakeman (former keyboardist of Yes) at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Geddy Lee of Rush inducts Yes at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Joan Baez at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood (co-founders of ELO) at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Dhani Harrison inducts ELO at the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on April 7, 2017. (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
Jeff Lynne of ELO (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
Journey
Joan Baez
Yes
Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Journey, Joan Baez, Yes and Nile Rodgers have been announced as the inductees in the 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, which will take place on April 7, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Rodgers, a Grammy-winning producer and founder of Chic, will be given the Award for Musical Excellence. The rest of the artists will be inducted in the Performers category.
Ticket on-sale dates will be announced in January 2017. HBO will once again televise highlights from the ceremony on a premiere date to be announced. The show’s radio broadcast will be on SiriusXM.
A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members in advance of the public sale date. To be eligible for the member pre-sale, you must be an active Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member by December 31, 2016. Additional public ticket details and presale offers will be announced in the future.
The special exhibition on the 2017 Inductees will open at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on March 31, 2017.
Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. The 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Performer Inductees were chosen by more than 900 voters of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, as well as the aggregate results of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s online fan vote. The top five artists from the fan vote comprised the fans’ ballot that was tallied along with the other ballots to determine the 2017 Inductees. Four of the groups from fans’ ballot (Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Pearl Jam and Yes) will be inducted.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is known for its on-stage reunions, memorable tributes and all-star jam sessions. It has not yet been announced which of the living inductees will attend, who will induct them, and who will be performing. It’s a tradition for the inductees who attend to also perform at the show. In rare cases, some inductees attend but do not perform either because of their health or for other reasons. Bands that have had feuds or several lineup changes are often at the center of speculation about who will show up for the acceptance speech and performance.
Pearl Jam
Led by singer/songwriter Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam’s only major lineup changes have been with the band’s drummers. Between 1991 and 1998, the band parted ways with four different drummers. Since 1998, the band’s current lineup has remained the same: Vedder, lead guitarist Mike McCready, rhythm guitarist Stone Gossard, bassist Mike Ament and drummer Matt Cameron.
Journey
Journey has had several lead singers since the band released its first album in 1975. Steve Perry is Journey’s most famous lead singer, since he was in the band during its heyday in the late 1970s to 1980s, when Journey had its biggest hits. Perry, who is now a solo artist, has battled health problems with his vocal cords and hip, and it is unknown at this point if he will perform at the induction ceremony. Gregg Rolie, Journey’s original lead singer, has most recently been recording and touring with Santana, his other mega-successful band from the San Francisco Bay Area. Steve Augeri was Journey’s singer from 1998 to 2007. Journey’s current lead singer, Arnel Pineda, was famously discovered on YouTube, and has been in the band since 2007. Journey lead guitarist Neal Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Caine and bassist Ross Valory are longtime members of the band who have stayed in the group throughout its changing lineup of lead singers.
American folk icon Baez, whose first album was released in 1960, has been steadily performing throughout her entire career. It’s safe to assume that she will attend and perform at the ceremony.
Tupac Shakur
Hip-hop star Shakur, who was shot to death in 1996 (in a murder that remains unsolved), will likely be represented by his mother, Afeni Shakur, and possibly other members of his family or business associates.
ELO
British pop/rock band ELO has had numerous lineup changes, breakups, and revivals since the group’s first album was released in 1971. Singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Lynne has been the band’s chief architect, since he wrote and produced the band’s biggest hits. ELO co-founder Roy Wood performed only on ELO’s first album, but he is still eligible to be inducted with ELO in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Meanwhile, other original members of the band—such as keyboardist Richard Tandy and drummer Bev Bevan—were part of the group during ELO’s heyday in the 1970s through mid-1980s. Bevan later recorded and toured as part of the spinoff group ELO Part II, while Tandy is part of Jeff Lynne’s ELO, a group that has toured with Lynne since 2015.
Yes
Yes is another British rock band that has undergone many incarnations and revivals. Since 2015, the band’s lineup has consisted of guitarist Steve Howe, drummer Alan White, keyboardist Geoff Downes, bassist Billy Sherwood and singer Jon Davison. Bass player Chris Squire, one of the original members of Yes, died in 2015. Jon Anderson, who was in Yes off and on from 1968 to 2008, is the band’s most famous lead singer, since he sang on the group’s biggest hits. Other well-known former members of Yes are keyboardist Rick Wakeman, drummer Bill Bruford, singer/bassist Trevor Horn, and keyboardist Tony Kaye.
Nile Rodgers
He first rose to fame in the late 1970s as a member of the dance/R&B group Chic. Since then, Rodgers has worked with a wide variety of artists, including Daft Punk, Duran Duran, Diana Ross and Madonna.
