Salt-N-Pepa, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper, White Stripes being inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Salt-N-Pepa donned the multi-colored leather jackets from their “Push It” video and brought the crowd at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony to their feet with a rowdy rendition of their breakout 1987 hit.

“This is for every woman who picked up a microphone when she was told she couldn't,” Cheryl “Salt” James said Saturday as she accepted the musical impact award that made her, Sandra “Pepa” Denton and DJ Spinderella members of the hall.

In a rousing speech at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, James spoke about his fight to get his master recordings back from Universal Music Group.

“The industry still doesn't want to play fair, Salt-N-Pepa has never been afraid to fight,” James said.

They took the stage to perform their hits. They opened with “Shoop” then moved into “Let's Talk About Sex” before being joined by En Vogue for their hit joint “What a Man”. “Push It” took the energy up another notch.

Spinderella became the first female DJ to enter the hall.

“Female rappers had to step up to the mic and show they could go toe-to-toe with the guys. And Salt, Pepa and Spinderella did it,” Missy Elliott said, bringing the trio up to speed.

Chappell Roan was supposed to induct Cyndi Lauper.

Outkast don't perform, but appear together

Outkast didn't perform together for the first time since 2016 as some had hoped, but the duo stood together on stage, surrounded by a team of friends and associates, giving acceptance speeches after doing rock-paper-scissors to decide who would perform first.

Andre 3000 gave a long, rambling funny speech: “I'm freestyle, y'all!” — which ended in tears as he recounted their beginnings in a basement “dungeon” in Atlanta in the early 1990s.

He choked out the words: “Great things begin in small rooms.”

Andre skipped the show, but Big Boi, dressed in shorts and a fur coat, began a quick tour of the discography of the Atlanta duo, which included Tyler the Creator, JID and Killer Mike.

They were joined by Janelle Monáe to perform “Hey Ya,” and Doja Cat delivered a sly and soulful version of “Miss Jackson.”

In his inauguration speech, Donald Glover praised them as “two visionaries who turned their differences into a dynasty.”

An emotional Jim Carrey remembers Chris Cornell during the Soundgarden opening.

Emotions were very high during the night's Soundgarden set, starting with the opening speech from Jim Carrey, actor and Soundgarden superfan, who seemed to struggle to hold back tears while talking about Cornell, who died by suicide in 2017.

“When you look into his eyes, it feels like eternity is looking back,” Kerry said. “Forever his voice will continue to light up the airwaves like a Tesla coil.”

Each of his bandmates, all major godfathers of the Seattle grunge scene, paid their own tearful tributes.

One of Cornell's daughters, Lillian, spoke for him, while another, Toni, quietly sang his song “Fell on Black Days.”

“I’m very, very glad that he was able to play music with his friends,” Lillian Cornell said.

Taylor Momsen, who co-starred with Carrey as a child in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Brandi Carlile showed off some serious vocal power in their versions of Cornell's mighty howl, supported by his bandmates on “Rusty Cage” and “Black Hole Sun.”

Bassist Hiro Yamamoto was one of the few who raised current political issues from the stage.

“Thank you to my parents, whose history is that of American citizens who were captured and placed in prisoner of war camps simply for being Japanese during World War II,” Yamamoto said to the loudest applause of the evening. “Well, it had a big impact on my life and it really reverberates today. Let's not add another story like this to our history.”

Meg White did not attend The White Stripes' launch event

The White Stripes reunion some fans were hoping for didn't happen. In any case, their introduction was one of the highlights of the evening. Twenty One Pilots brought the house down with their version of the duo's stadium-shaking anthem “Seven Nation Army,” while Olivia Rodrigo and Feist performed an acoustic version of “We're Gonna Be Friends” for the average crowd.

Fellow Detroit rock legend Iggy Pop began his acceptance speech by leading the crowd in a chorus of “Seven Nation Army” and then recalled his thoughts on meeting them.

“Dear children, they will go anywhere,” Pop said. “And they did it.”

Drummer Meg White, who has led an almost entirely private life since the band split in 2011, did not appear at the ceremony, but Jack White said Meg, his ex-wife, helped him write the speech, which he delivered while wearing the band's signature red and white suit.

Jack White highlighted several great duets from different cultures and said that such one-on-one collaboration is “the most beautiful thing an artist and musician can have.”

He nearly cried several times as he told a story similar to Adam and Eve, about “a boy and a girl” who created magic together, “knowing that they were sharing and making the other person feel something.”

Stevie Wonder pays tribute to Sly Stone

Stevie Wonder led a powerful and colorful tribute to the late Cunning Stone open the show, which streams live on Disney+, will be available on Hulu on Sunday and will air in an edited version on ABC on January 1.

On Saturday night, Wonder was joined by Questlove, Leon Thomas, Maxwell, Beck, Flea of ​​the Red Hot Chili Peppers for a rousing performance of Sly and Family Stone's hits “Dance to the Music,” “Everyday People” and “Thanks You.” Jennifer Hudson joined them to cry during the song “Higher.”

Stone, inducted into the hall in 1993, died in June. Brian Wilson, who died two days later, will also receive a tribute from Elton John.

Mick Fleetwood opens the ceremony and inducts Bad Company

Fleetwood Mac's Mick Fleetwood began the ceremony by inducting Bad Company. He called the British group, founded by Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs in 1973, “classic rock legends” and “one of the first supergroups” but said that, more importantly, “they were four great musicians who came together for the love of music.”

Rodgers had to miss the ceremony due to health problems, and Ralphs died earlier this year, so drummer Simon Kirke was the only member on stage.

He was joined by a special supergroup who performed some of the supergroup's biggest hits.

Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson performed lead vocals on their hit “Feel Like Makin' Love” with Heart's Nancy Wilson and Aerosmith's Joe Perry on guitars. Bryan Adams took the stage to sing “Can't Get Enough.”

“I've never played in a tuxedo before,” Kirk said as he accepted the award for the band.

He was emotional as he thanked Ralph's wife Susie for taking care of him.

David Letterman inducts the late Warren Zevon

The late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon was recruited by David Letterman, a friend and superfan who made Zevon a regular on his late-night NBC show.

“Warren Zevon is in my Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Letterman said. “His own wing, actually.”

A clip was shown of Zevon's last appearance on the show in 2002, when he was dying of cancer. “Enjoy every sandwich,” Zevon said when Letterman asked what he learned about mortality.

Letterman cried as he showed the crowd the guitar Zevon gave him as a gift later that evening.

“He will never leave,” Bruce Springsteen said in a recorded tribute. “He has a job that's as good as anyone else's.”

Letterman singled out several categories for Zevon's cleverly emotional tunes, the latest being “songs about werewolves,” which got a lot of laughter from the audience. 1978's Werewolves of London was Zevon's biggest and most unexpected hit.

The Killers then performed Zevon's second biggest hit, “Lawyers, Guns and Money.”