Los Angeles finally gets its musical due

When the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inducts its new class, it will happen here.

- By STEVE BALTIN

CBS Photo Archive THIS YEAR'S ceremony will pay tribute to Sly Stone, center, seen performing on television in 1969 with Freddie Stone, left, and Larry Graham. Stone died earlier this year at age 82. Sly and the Family Stone were inducted into the hall in 1993.

A cross-section of music superstars — Soundgarden, Outkast, Warren Zevon, the White Stripes, Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Salt-N-Pepa, Bad Company and industry icon Lenny Waronker — will be inducted Saturday into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in a ceremony to be held at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater.

Among the music stars who will take the stage to celebrate the inductees are Olivia Rodrigo, Elton John, Janelle Monde, En Vogue, Beck, Doja Cat, Brandi Carlile, Flea, Joe Perry, Questlove, Teddy Swims, Bryan Adams, Avril Lavigne, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Donald Glover, Jerry Cantrell, Twenty One Pilots and Raye. Comedy veterans David Letterman and Jim Carrey also will participate in the event.

John Sykes, chairman of the Rock Hall, said, “Being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has become music’s highest honor.”

“An induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is recognition that an artist has helped shape the sound of a generation,” said Tyler Joseph, singer-songwriter of the rap-rock duo Twenty One Pilots. “It means that their music has, in some way, defined culture,”

Vicky Cornell, widow of late Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell, said: “This recognition means so much as it not only celebrates the extraordinary body of work that Chris created with his band — songs born from his soul, his imagination, and relentless dedication; it honors Soundgarden’s profound effect on music that helped create a whole new genre — grunge — with the depth of Chris’ writing and his creative vision at its core. ... It reminds us that Chris’s spirit lives on— in every song, every lyric, and every soul his music continues to touch.”