Collins cries, Oprah inducts Vandross and rappers romp at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony

LOS ANGELES, Nov 15, (AP): Phil Collins gave a tearful acceptance speech and got an electrifying tribute from Cynthia Erivo, Oprah Winfrey inducted the late Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan made the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles a rowdy celebration at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night.

Queen Latifah, Oasis, MC Lyte, Sade and Joy Division/New Order were also inducted along with producer Rick Rubin, who got a long-bearded tribute from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Billy Idol and Iron Maiden were set to enter the hall later in the evening. U2 was the night’s surprise opener, playing their new single "Silencio” while surrounded by dancers in riot squad gear with helmets and shields.

They then launched into their 1984 classic "Pride (In the Name of Love)” as singer Bono alternately raised a peace sign and fist. Collins, whose mobility issues and other health problems kept him from performing, took the stage slowly using a pair of canes and cried at a huge ovation from a crowd that included his daughter, actor Lily Collins.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker inducted Collins and praised him for his unprecedented dual stardom as a drummer and a hit-making pop singer in the 1980s. "I grew up just wanting to play the drums,” Collins said. "Everything else has been a really happy accident. I can’t believe, when I look back, how life has gone.” Barker said Collins' song "In the Air Tonight” gave the world "arguably the most badass drum fill of all time.”

Minutes later, Barker played that drum fill himself as Erivo gave a slowed-down, epic rendition of the song with a wailing crescendo that brought the crowd to its feet. Collins was already in the hall as a member of Genesis, but now gets the solo honor. He hasn’t been able to take the stage since 2022, but assured the crowd that "you haven’t heard the last of me.”

Winfrey said with relish that Vandross was "the maestro of the love song” and said he was once correctly named "the top artist that people make looove to.” Vandross, an R&B singer with a velvet voice, was one of the definitive singers of the 1980s and ’90s. He died in 2005. "Luther Vandross sang with such passion and soul it could reach something deep inside that you didn’t even know needed to be reached,” Winfrey said.