Joan Jett speaks at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Cleveland.
Ringo Starr and Barbara Bockman on the red carpet prior to the 2015 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony at Public Hall on Saturday, April 18, 2015, in Cleveland, Ohio.CLEVELAND – With plenty of punk attitude and energy, Green Day thrashed its way into the Rock Hall.
The Bay Area trio, which formed as teenagers and helped make punk rock radio friendly in the 1990s, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night during a star-studded event they briefly turned into one of their high-intensity shows with a powerful set of some of their most memorable hits.
From the opening power chords of “American Idiot,” Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tre Cool had the crowd at Cleveland’s Public Hall dancing in the aisles.
Green Day was inducted along with Ringo Starr, Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, soul singer-songwriter Bill Withers, underground-rock icon Lou Reed, bluesy guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The “5” Royales – an eclectic class who innovated and inspired.
Brash and belligerent, Green Day blasted onto the music scene just as Seattle’s grunge sound was growing stale. The band borrowed took riffs from punk pioneers like The Stooges and Sex Pistols, flavored them with some power chords and pop hooks and helped redefine a genre.