The Best Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame 2016 Speeches

Rock'N'Roll Hall Of Fame ceremonies can be an emotionally charged event for those involved, so it’s not surprising some memorable moments often arise during the occasion.

The results from NWA, Deep Purple, Chicago, Steve Miller and Cheap Trick being inducted over the weekend yielded some expect and unexpected highlights.

NWA

NWA were inducted into the Hall Of Fame over the weekend by Kendrick Lamar, and, given their politically driven career and powerful voice, it’s not surprising they made it one to remember.

Even leading up to the event they announced they wouldn’t be performing as they didn’t feel they had been “supported enough to do the best show we could put on” and once they hit the stage they got straight to the point, taking aim at Gene Simmons, who weeks earlier said he was looking forward to the death of rap.

"I wanna say to Mr. Gene Simmons that hip-hop is here forever,” MC Ren said. “We're supposed to be here!"

Ice Cube uttered one sentence among a well-spoken segment that will no doubt go down in history: "You're goddamn right we're rock'n'roll.”

Steven Van Zandt

The legendary E Street Band guitarist has a history of stealing the show when he takes to the stage at the Hall Of Fame, most notably scoring a role on Sopranos after his stunning 1997 speech while inducting Rascals. This year, while not on stage, he did make comments backstage, according to Rolling Stone, about Bruce Springsteen’s decision to cancel a North Carolina gig over anti-LGBT laws. He then made record time while inducting producer Bert Berns into the Hall Of Fame, compared to previous long-winded rants.

"This really vile and evil discrimination is starting to spread state to state and we thought, 'We better take a stand right now and catch it early,'" he said on the North Carolina cancelation.  
Here’s a look back on the ’97 speech that saw the muso turn actor.

Steve Miller

Legendary guitarist Steve Miller was also inducted over the weekend, and after using his time in the spotlight to question the Hall Of Fame’s induction process and lack of women being entered, he unleashed even more backstage, saying “they need to respect the artists they say they’re honoring, which they don’t”, among other things.