Bon Jovi, Moody Blues lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2018 Class

Late, great Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe also honored, as are The Cars, Dire Straits.

Richie Sambora, left, and Jon Bon Jovi are seen at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Cleveland Public Auditorium on April 14, 2018, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)
Richie Sambora, left, and Jon Bon Jovi are seen at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Cleveland Public Auditorium on April 14, 2018, in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Zorn/Invision/AP)

Hair today, enshrined tomorrow.

On Saturday night, a new batch of music legends officially entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the Cleveland’s Public Auditorium with a rousing induction ceremony. The Moody Blues may have been the headlining act on a bill that included The Cars, Dire Straits, and the late, great Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, but Bon Jovi may have been the biggest name in the 33rd class of inductees. Not bad for a band that has outlasted the critics who dismissed the Jersey group as hair metal pap when they debuted in the mid-80s. What all of the acts had in common was a chip on their shoulder over being left out of the Hall for so long before their invites finally arrived.

“I’ve been writing this speech many days, in many ways — some days, it’s the thank you speech, some days the f–k you speech,” Bon Jovi told the crowd during his acceptance speech, alluding to the band having been snubbed by the Hall for so long.  “It’s about time — that has been the theme of my weekend.”

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