Backstage Pass

Part of the fun of attending the rock hall induction ceremony is watching various celebrities show up for no real reason: Ed Burns, Will Forte of "Saturday Night Live," comedian-actor Richard Belzer and so on. Another part of the fun: Listening to journalists lob softball questions. Here is a brief audio of Chevy Chase, who joked that he was running for president and then gamely chatted with the media.

The surprise performer to play Dave Clark Five's hits is none other than Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, tackling "Bits and Pieces."

And, for the first time in years, there's an all-star jam to end the night -- "Glad All Over" featuring John Fogerty, John Mellencamp and Billy Joel joining Jett and her band.

Without performances from Madonna, Leonard Cohen and the Dave Clark Five, it was up to John Mellencamp to deliver the kind of set we've come to expect from Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. And he didn't disappoint, with "Pink Houses," "Smalltown" and his theme song "The Authority Song," which included just the right amount of his protest against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq.

PHOTO: Jason DeCrow for Associated Press 

Before the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was televised, it used to be freewheeling, with wild speeches and lots of insider stories.

Billy Joel's induction of John Mellencamp was a throwback to those days, telling the story of how he was hesitant to play at Mellencamp's Farm Aid concert in Indiana.

"I’m a New York Jew, they hate people like me," Joel joked. "They’ll kill me. Let me see if I can get another Jew for you. So I called Randy Newman."

Like several presenters, Joel teased the struggling record industry, saying, "Congratulations John, you outlived the music business." He also threw in some jabs at VH1, adding, "It used to be a lot more fun before it became a TV show."

PHOTO: Jason DeCrow for Associated Press 

So Iggy Pop and The Stooges -- who if there's any justice will get to perform again next year as inductees -- did pretty well with Madonna's "Burning Up" and "Ray of Light," turning the former into a straight-up proto-punk song in his own band's style and turning the latter into a sludgy rocker.

PHOTO: Iggy by Jason DeCrow for Associated Press.

Madonna was gracious and emotional in her acceptance speech for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, recalling her time living in an abandoned synagogue in Queens and meeting Sire Records president Seymour Stein while he was in a hospital bed.

She revealed how her iconic MTV Video Music Awards performance of "Like a Virgin" wasn't planned, but happened when "I lost one of my high heels and I dove to find it and suddenly it was a dance move."

She also talked about performing at Madison Square Garden and seeing a sea of wannabes dressed like her. "It really freaked me out," she said.

And she even thanked the naysayers for pushing her to better. “I did not get here on my own," Madonna said, "And why would I want to?”

Her speech was pretty much the opposite of Justin Timberlake's induction speech, which bounced between sexual innuendo and a press release recitation. But after he explained how Madonna gave him a shot of B-12, he did hit on something, saying she was like that shot, "A nice shot in the --- when we really needed it."

PHOTO: Jason DeCrow for Associated Press 

Um, Madonna follows the montage of those who died in the past year? Weird. I wonder if they'll fix that in the VH1 special.

Just when I was wondering how the Rock Hall inductions were supposed to last four hours when they had run through two inductions in half an hour, Lou Reed arrived and read a lot of Leonard Cohen poetry. That would be fine, I suppose, if Leonard Cohen wasn't there, but he was and his own reading of "Tower of Song" was so much better,

And he paraphrased the great Jon Landau line about Bruce Springsteen, changing it to: "I have seen the future of rock and roll and it is not Leonard Cohen."

Luckily, Damien Rice's gorgeous version of "Hallelujah" -- which should stand as one of the evening's highlights -- quickly made me forget what came before it.

This year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions are off to a pretty good start, with Miss Patti LaBelle ripping things up with a stirring version of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff's "If You Don't Know Me By Now."

And in case there was any doubt that the writers of "Backstabbers" and "Me and Mrs. Jones" were still topical, Gamble closed his speech by reminding, "It’s appropriate for today because there’s a little ‘Me and Mrs. Jones’ going on here in New York.” Still no word on what kind of thing Gov. Eliot Spitzer and "escort" "Kristen" had going on.

PHOTO:  Huff and Gamble by Brian Bedder for Getty Images.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Day is always a weird one at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Midtown. Instead of the usual, well-heeled guests and the tourists looking for salads, there is the usual smattering of fans hoping to catch a glimpse of a Hall of Famer.

Today was no different, with the pounding of John Mellencamp's rehearsal of "Pink Houses" in the ballroom permeating the quiet of the classy lobby. A nice juxtaposition.

The ceremony starts at 8:30 p.m. live on VH1 Classic and streaming at bestbuy.com and we'll be blogging it live around then, if only to celebrate Iggy Pop's serenade of Madonna hits.

In the meantime, please to enjoy last year's highlight: R.E.M. reunited for "Begin the Beguine"

Madonna leads this year's class of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who will be inducted at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Monday night. Since the Material Girl isn't expected to leak any of her upcoming "Hard Candy" album at the ceremony (even though collaborator Justin Timberlake is set to induct her), we'll just have to celebrate her honor by looking back.

Iggy Pop and The Stooges will serenade her induction. And we have big hopes for how awesome that will be. The whole ceremony airs live on VH1 Classic Monday night at 8:30 and highlights will be shown on VH1 on Mar. 22 at 11 p.m.

Here's some of her best tracks:

Madonna: Borderline rocker, deserving inductee [Newsday]