Did one of the first Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees actually gain his musical abilities by selling his soul to the devil? Talk about being metal!
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00:00Did one of the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees actually gain his musical abilities
00:05by selling his soul to the devil? Talk about being metal.
00:10For many people, Chuck Berry was the definition of rock and roll. Born in 1926 in St. Louis,
00:16Missouri, Berry first found success in the 1950s on the back of hits like Maybelline,
00:21Johnny B. Goode, and Roll Over Beethoven. His virtuoso guitar skills, iconic duck walk,
00:27and relatable lyrics made him an instant staple among rock and rollers. Berry managed
00:32to break color barriers with his music, and he is widely considered one of the progenitors
00:37of modern rock and roll. For decades, guitarists have idolized Berry and his incredible ability
00:43to create memorable rhythms and awe-inspiring leads.
00:47Keith Richards, the guitarist of the Rolling Stones, was Berry's presenter for the Hall.
00:52During his speech, Richards spoke with admiration and respect, though he later revealed to Jimmy
00:56Fallon that it wasn't always cordial between the two after Richards was once caught playing
01:01Berry's guitar without permission.
01:03He walks in and goes, nobody tosses my guitar. That's one of Chuck's biggest hits, baby."
01:11Despite some problematic legal troubles, Berry kept rocking for many years following his
01:16induction. He regularly played shows and collaborated with many different artists, and he even wrote
01:22an autobiography. Berry was planning on releasing another studio album when he died in 2017
01:29at the age of 90.
01:31Known as the Godfather of Soul and the hardest-working man in show business, James Brown was one
01:36of the true legends of rock and roll. Brown was born in 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina,
01:42but spent much of his life impoverished and growing up in Augusta, Georgia. As a kid,
01:47he learned how to perform gospel music, and he formed his first group as a teenager. By
01:52the late 1950s, Brown was one of the top-billing acts in music, and had massive singles like
01:57Please, Please, Please, Try Me, and Think. His 1963 album Live at the Apollo was a huge
02:04success, and fans loved his incredible voice or scream, catchy music, impeccable work ethic,
02:11and his outstanding dance moves.
02:14His inductor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was Steve Winwood, who spoke about Brown's
02:18incredible impact on the entire music industry. Always the showman, after his acceptance speech,
02:24Brown gave the audience a quick show of his dance moves before departing the stage and
02:28giving the crowd a kiss goodbye. During his career, Brown created more than 50 albums,
02:33despite serious legal troubles, and his final album was 2002's The Next Step.
02:39Brown died in 2006 at the age of 73, but before his death, he was also honored with both a
02:44Kennedy Center Honor and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
02:49Few stories in music history are as amazing and inspirational as that of Ray Charles.
02:55Born in 1930, Charles lost his vision as a child and had lost both his parents by the
03:00time that he was 14. Resilient, he used his musical abilities to support himself, and
03:06he signed with Atlantic Records in his 20s. It was during his time with Atlantic that
03:11Charles is credited with inventing soul music, which was a new hybrid of gospel and the blues.
03:17His biggest hits included,
03:19"'What I'd Say,' "'Hit the Road, Jack,' "'Georgia on My Mind' about his home state, and "'I Got a Woman.'"
03:26Longtime music industry executive Quincy Jones inducted Charles, and during his acceptance
03:31speech, Charles said he was touched and overwhelmed by the honor.
03:36Charles continued to put out music following his induction into the hall in 1986, and he
03:40received the National Medal of Arts in 1993. He died in 2004 at the age of 73.
03:47Though he was most well-known for soul, jazz, and rock, Charles' music transcended many
03:52different genres and boundaries. He supplemented his music skills with occasional acting appearances,
03:58and many people still know him today as the Father of Soul.
04:03His career was short, but Sam Cooke will forever be remembered for his incredible impact on
04:08rock and roll. Cooke was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931, during a time of heavy
04:13segregation and racism. He first began his music career as a gospel singer in the early
04:191950s, switched to pop by the end of the decade, and by the time of his death was one of the
04:24progenitors of rock music. He was an important member of the Black community and broke many
04:29racial boundaries with his delicate brand of pop music.
04:33Unfortunately, Cooke's career came to a tragic end when he was shot to death under mysterious
04:38circumstances at just 33. In addition to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
04:44Cooke also posthumously received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. For his induction,
04:50since Sam could not be there himself, his widow Barbara Cooke and his father, Reverend
04:55Charles Cooke, accepted the award on his behalf. It's truly a tragedy that Cooke's life ended
05:00so prematurely, but the fact that he still made the Hall despite such a short career
05:05is a testament to his rock and roll genius and impact.
05:10Born in 1928 in New Orleans, Louisiana, Fats Domino was one of the most influential piano
05:16players in R&B and rock and roll history. He learned how to play the piano by himself
05:21in the 1930s to 1940s and soon began his music career performing in local clubs. He became
05:27widely known for his boogie-woogie style of piano playing, which brought his music
05:31a unique sound to pair with his soulful voice. In the 1950s, he started to first taste commercial
05:38success, and soon he was selling records by the tens of millions.
05:43Domino was one of the early creators of rock and roll, and he broke racial barriers with
05:47his music and performances. He also appeared in movies in the 1950s, and some of his biggest
05:53hits were Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday, and Ain't That a Shame.
05:58Domino's presenter for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was Billy Joel.
06:03An influential piano player and singer in his own right, Joel credited Domino with inspiring
06:08him to play rock and roll piano. Following his induction, Domino continued to perform
06:13for many years, though pretty much exclusively in his home state of Louisiana. Domino died
06:19in 2017 near his home in the Big Easy. He was 89 years old.
06:25The Everly Brothers were Don and Phil Everly, and in the late 1950s and early 1960s, they
06:31were some of the best representations of Southern-inspired rock and roll. The Everlys first hit their
06:37peak in 1957, after signing with Caden's Records, and they soon moved to Warner Bros. in 1960.
06:44While their commercial success did not last long stateside, they remained popular overseas
06:50and at one time had their own TV show before breaking up in 1973.
06:53They reunited in 1983, just a few years before their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction,
06:59but mostly stuck to playing old hits for the rest of their careers. Neil Young was their
07:04presenter for the Hall, and he explained how much they influenced him, something singer
07:08Graham Nash echoed to The Wall Street Journal.
07:11It changed my life.
07:13Both of the Everlys have since passed, with Phil dying in 2014 due to chronic obstructive
07:18pulmonary disease. After Phil's death, Don still performed up until his own death in
07:232021. Still beloved today, the Everly Brothers' music is truly as timeless as it gets.
07:31One of the most important disc jockeys in early rock and roll was Alan Freed, who popularized
07:36the new form of music in the early 1950s. In 1950, he started his new show in Cleveland,
07:42Ohio, after moving from Akron the previous year. Within two years, he inadvertently began
07:48starting riots with his choice of music. Nicknamed King of the Moondoggers, Freed played black
07:54artists on his radio shows at a time of strict segregation, drawing the ire of critics. But
08:00his work breaking down racial barriers was immensely important for the foundation of
08:04rock and roll. Indeed, Freed was responsible for popularizing the term rock and roll, which
08:10he used frequently on his radio show.
08:12Alan Freed called it the beat. You gotta have the beat."
08:16Unfortunately, Freed's career and reputation were tarnished for his role in the Paola scandal,
08:21where he admitted he accepted bribes in return for playing and promoting certain records
08:26on the radio. Freed died in 1965 at the age of 43, long before he was inducted into the
08:32Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
08:35Few talent scouts were as legendary as John Hammond. Without Hammond's keen eye for talent,
08:41rock and roll would sound completely different than it does today, as he's credited with
08:45discovering the talents of Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Seeger,
08:51and Billie Holiday, among many others. Born in 1910 and a dropout of Yale, Hammond began
08:56his career in the 1930s and quickly found success. He played a big role in breaking
09:02down early racial color barriers in music, and was one of the few white executives to
09:07work for integration. While Hammond was alive for his induction, he died a short time later
09:12in 1987, at the age of 76. He might not have the most recognizable name in rock and roll,
09:19but it's impossible to doubt his impact.
09:22For fans of rock and roll across the world, few things are sadder than the death of icon
09:27Buddy Holly. Holly's career was just beginning when he died, along with other greats Richie
09:32Valance and The Big Bopper, in a tragic 1959 plane crash. The crash was later immortalized
09:39in the Don McLean song, American Pie, and is known as the day the music died.
09:45Instantly recognizable from his large spectacles, Holly was born in 1936 in Lubbock, Texas,
09:51and his career began in the 1950s. However, things would not take off until the release
09:56of his single, That'll Be the Day, in 1957, which shot him into rock superstardom and
10:02influenced a generation of new musicians by changing how the guitar was used. In 2017,
10:08Queen guitarist Brian May explained to the BBC how things were prior to Holly.
10:13The guitar, if it was there, would be in the background just chugging away acoustically.
10:18You didn't have a guitar just kicking in at the beginning of the record, electrified."
10:22With his band, The Crickets, Holly changed the face of rock and roll with his unique
10:27and catchy guitar lines and inspired vocals. The band became internationally acclaimed
10:33on the back of 50s hits like Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, and several others. Holly's peak lasted
10:39less than two years, but his work is widely revered today and is some of the most memorable
10:44in all of rock and roll history.
10:47Holly was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by John Fogerty, and he credited
10:51Holly with inspiring him to first pick up a guitar. Holly was only 22 years old at the
10:57time of his death, and was one of the brightest young rock and rollers to have his career
11:02cut short.
11:03You legends carry the respect of Robert Johnson. Born in 1911, Johnson was one of the finest
11:10blues guitarists of the 1930s, and his music heavily influenced the generation that would
11:16become the first rock and rollers. He was not particularly successful commercially during
11:20his lifetime, but after death he finally got the recognition he deserved. He is the
11:26only musician to be inducted in the inaugural classes of both the Rock and Roll Hall of
11:31Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame.
11:34It has long been said that to write his songs, Johnson had made a deal with the devil early
11:38in his career at the crossroads, and the folklore has always added to his mythical stature.
11:45Johnson died in 1938 of unknown causes at just 27 years old, but despite his short career,
11:51it's not much of an overstatement to say that without Johnson, there would be no rock and
11:56roll.
11:57If it wasn't for some of his more controversial personal choices, we might today be looking
12:02at Jerry Lee Lewis the same way we look at legends like Elvis Presley or Little Richard.
12:08Born in 1935 in Faraday, Louisiana, Lewis became a sensation in his early 20s due to
12:13his virtuoso, rockabilly piano playing and energetic theatrics. He was known for going
12:19wild on stage, and some of his antics gave new meaning to his song, Great Balls of Fire.
12:25Yet, for as much success as Lewis experienced in 1957 with his string of top ten hits, within
12:31two years, everything would come crashing down.
12:35When word got out about his marriage to his adolescent cousin, the press had a field day,
12:41and his comments in defense only made things worse. Lewis never again reached the success
12:46in rock music that he had before the scandal broke, but he did, however, manage to find
12:51a lot of success in country music. Lewis' presenter for the hall was country music star
12:56Hank Williams Jr., and as part of the celebration, Lewis joined fellow inductee Chuck Berry on
13:02a performance of Roll Over Beethoven.
13:05Lewis also made it into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022, just months before dying
13:10at the age of 87. He will forever be remembered as an important part of rock's creation, and
13:15few pianists are as deserving of inclusion into the hall as himself.
13:20It's rare for a music executive to reach the level of fame that performers do, but then
13:26again, nothing was exactly normal about the career of Sam Phillips. Phillips is most renowned
13:31for founding one of the greatest and most famous record labels in rock and roll history,
13:37Sun Records.
13:38Based in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1950s, Phillips was instrumental in recording some
13:42of the best-selling albums in rock and roll history, working with stars like Johnny Cash,
13:47Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison.
13:50"...and if I'd have let him start out with anything but Ooby Dooby or some rhythm song
13:56for the young people, he might have never heard of Roy Orbison."
13:59But perhaps Phillips' best work was reserved for his time with Elvis Presley. Phillips
14:04was the one who discovered Presley, and he helped bring his music to millions and millions.
14:09Without Phillips, we might not have Presley.
14:12For his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Phillips' presenter was Ahmet Ertegun,
14:17the hall's co-founder. Besides being a rock hall inductee, Phillips is also a member of
14:22the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, Country Music Hall of Fame, Blues Hall of Fame, and the
14:27Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
14:30Phillips died in 2003 from respiratory failure. He was 80 years old.
14:35If there was one absolute shoe-in for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's inaugural class,
14:41it had to be Elvis Presley. There is probably no name in American history as synonymous
14:46with rock and roll as Presley, and for good reason, too. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi
14:51and born in 1935, Presley was the true king of rock and roll. After being discovered by
14:58Sam Phillips at Sun Records as a teenager, within a few years Presley was creating his
15:02own new brand of music, which became known as Rockabilly.
15:07Presley's music propelled him into superstardom, but that wasn't the only thing fans adored.
15:12In addition to his guitar playing and smooth voice, Presley also infatuated audiences,
15:18especially girls and women, with his evocative performances that featured sensual crooning
15:24combined with spirited hip gyrations.
15:27Countless songwriters and musicians have since labeled Presley as one of their biggest influences,
15:32and he was the first true rock and roll star. However, by the mid-1970s, Presley was a shell
15:38of his former self, and he died in 1977 from a heart attack.
15:43Sean and Julian Lennon, the sons of John Lennon, inducted Presley into the Rock and Roll Hall
15:49of Fame. Looking back today, it's almost impossible to quantify how much of an impact Presley
15:54made on rock and roll, and America, during his career. As B.B. King told Charlie Rose,
16:00He had everything. The looks, he had the talent.
16:06Along with Elvis Presley, few men can claim to have had the impact on rock and roll as
16:11Little Richard has. Richard was responsible for recording such huge hits as Long Tall
16:16Sally, Tutti Frutti, and Good Golly Miss Molly, which are some of the most widely covered
16:21songs in music history. He was born in Macon, Georgia, in 1932, and first found success
16:28in the 1950s. Besides his incredible piano playing, Richard was most well known for his
16:33eccentric and wild vocals, which combined shrieks and yells with beautiful singing.
16:40Yet, for a time, beginning in 1957, Richard seemed to give up rock and roll, as he found
16:46religion and started a new career as a preacher, following in his family's tradition. He still
16:51created music, but it was a much different gospel style. He returned to the fold in 1964,
16:56when bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan began to play his songs, bringing
17:02his music to a newer and younger generation. Though he was no longer as popular as he was
17:07during his heyday in the mid-1950s, Richard still performed up until his retirement in
17:132013.
17:14Richard died in 2020, at the age of 87, from bone cancer. His presenter for the Rock and
17:20Roll Hall of Fame was Roberta Flack, and she noted the incredible impact Richard made
17:25in rock and roll for Black performers. Richard opened new doors for many with his rock, and
17:30his impact will be forever everlasting.
17:34Country music star Jimmy Rogers was one of the most influential songwriters and singers
17:38of all time. Rogers was born in 1897 and was known as the Singing Brakeman during his career
17:44due to his time spent working the railroads. Tragically, Rogers died in 1933 from tuberculosis.
17:51His career lasted only about six years, but his impact was felt for decades. His guitar
17:57playing and songwriting served as inspiration for countless future rockers, leading to his
18:02Hall of Fame induction in the Early Influences category. Rogers is the only person inducted
18:07in the inaugural classes of both the Rock and Roll and Country music Halls of Fame,
18:12showing just how important his influence has been in American music.
18:17The final inductee of the inaugural 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was blues legend
18:23Jimmy Yancey. Yancey made it into the Hall in the Early Influences category, and his
18:28presenter was Hall co-founder Ahmet Ertegun.
18:32Yancey is believed to have been born around 1898 in Chicago, and he was giving performances
18:37for the King of England when he was just a teenager. His big contribution to music was
18:43his major role in creating the boogie-woogie style of piano playing, which would later
18:47be used by other pianists like fellow Hall inductee Fats Domino. As an adult, Yancey
18:52split his time between playing music and playing professional baseball in the Negro Leagues.
18:57He died in 1951 from diabetes just a few weeks after suffering a stroke.