NEW YORK — Bad Company singer-songwriter Paul Rodgers treasures one of his last phone conversations with the guitarist Mick Ralphs. This was done to break the news that they had finally been accepted into the ranks Stone & Roll Hall of Fame.
“I told him, 'Remember when we were looking for a band name and calling each other stupid names?' And then one day I called him and said, “Bad company,” and he hung up and said, “Oh yeah, that’s it.” It’s a name,” Rogers says.
“I said, 'It's a long way to go since then, but it feels like we just blinked a couple of times and here we are in the Hall of Fame.' So at least I was able to tell him that.”
Ralphs died in June, just weeks after learning of the inauguration.
Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke are the last surviving original members of the British supergroup that created such rock hits as “Feel Like Makin' Love,” “Can't Get Enough” and “Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy.” They will take part in Saturday's celebration at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, which will be streamed live on Disney+. ABC will air the primetime special on January 1, which will be available on Hulu the next day.
“The fans have been so wonderful over the years. We feel like we're being celebrated, but it's just not officially celebrated. That's the only difference,” Rogers says.
Bad Company will join rock legend Chubby Checker, the late soul singer Joe Cocker, pop icon Cyndi Lauper, hip-hop pioneers Outkast, rock duo The White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden in class '25.
Salt-N-Pepa, the first female rap group to go platinum, and the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will receive the Musical Influence Award. The Musical Excellence Award will go to the late producer Thom Bell, pianist Nicky Hopkins and bassist Carol Kaye.
Special guests will include Chappell Rohan and The Killers, as well as Elton John Olivia Rodrigo, Doja Cat, Questlove, Twenty One Pilots, Missy Elliott, Ray. Beck, Brandi Carlile David Letterman, Flea, Iggy Pop, JEED, Killer Mike, Maxwell, Sleepy Brown, Taylor Momsen and Teddy Swims.
Other stars will include Avril Lavigne, Bryan Adams, Donald Glover, En Vogue, Feist, Janelle Monáe, Jim Carrey, Joe Perry, Mick Fleetwood, Mike McCready, Nancy Wilson and Nathaniel Rateliff.
Rogers this month refused to perform at the Rock Hall “to prioritize my health,” but he said Kirk and “some outstanding musicians” will be there.
Formed in London in 1973, Bad Company brought together Rogers and Kirk from Free, Ralph from Mott the Hoople and bassist Boz Burrell, fresh from King Crimson. The band was managed by the legendary Peter Grant and signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label.
“We had everything we needed,” Rogers says. “There couldn't be a better start for a young band than that. We had the music. We had Atlantic Records behind us. It was a magical rollercoaster ride, really.”
Kirk said Bad Company came from a music scene that was then dominated by a lot of glamor and glitter – think David Bowie, Queen, T. Rex and Gary Glitter – and went back to basics.
“When we got together, I think the overall goal was that we just wanted to do something simplistic, straight to the point, gritty and a little cheeky, a little fun,” he says.
From the very beginning, the band had killer songs in their pockets. Ralphs had “Can't Get Enough,” “Movin' On” and “Ready for Love” ready. Rogers had “Rock Steady” and with Ralphs, “Seagull”. And Rodgers and Kirk wrote the song “Bad Company” with the lyrics “Bad Company/'Til the day I die.” The band's self-titled 1974 debut album peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, going five times platinum.
The group released six albums before breaking up after 1982's Rough Diamonds. Bad Company later reformed with lineup changes and reunion tours. Original bassist Burrell died of cancer in 2006.
Kirk says that Bad Company influenced many subsequent bands, such as Foreigner, Iron Maiden and Def Leppard. But he notes that Bad Company was in turn influenced by the Beatles and soul and blues artists.
“We just passed it on,” he says.
The induction ceremony will take place a few weeks after the release of the tribute album. “Can't Get Enough: A Tribute to Bad Company” via Primary Wave Music, a 10-track set that proves the band's influence.
Def Leppard's Joe Elliott and Phil Collen offer a rendition of “The Seagull”, Rodgers teams up with Halestorm for “Shooting Star”, The Struts Knocked Out “Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy” Slash, Myles Kennedy and the Cabal smash “Feel Like Makin' Love” as members of Blackberry Smoke battle “Run with the pack.”
“It's really about one generation inspiring the next generation, and that's really what Otis Redding did for me,” says Rogers, who is honored to join Redding in the Hall of Fame.
“Music was my calling, not to receive praise, but to express myself, my thoughts and opinions about love and life through song and hopefully send a positive vibration from my heart to others.”
