Howard Stern: Don’t Do Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions in Cleveland
Howard Stern knows why Bon Jovi will finally be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. "No one else wanted to go to Cleveland," he joked on his SiriusXM show. "They said, 'Who's willing to go to Cleveland?' Jon raised his hand."
Stern will be in Cleveland on April 14 for a ceremony to induct Bon Jovi into the Rock Hall. But he doesn't seemed too thrilled about traveling to the city, which houses the Hall of Fame itself and which hosts the induction ceremony every three years. He suggested he had nothing against Cleveland, but he's not too pleased about having to leave his home in New York City, which often hosts the induction ceremony.
"For some reason, they must have some cockamamie deal that every once in a while they'll actually shoot the celebration in Cleveland," he said. "But it's the stupidest f---ing thing. It's already been explained to me, through the grapevine, that a lot of rock 'n' roll people are not even going to be in the audience — because it's in Cleveland."
Stern, who admitted he's the wrong person to make the speech, went on to say that the Hall is not doing itself any favors taping what should be a star-studded event in a location not known for its celebrity population. "Wouldn't it be great television to suddenly see Bruce Springsteen or Sting, and it would be nice for the bands like the Moody Blues to see some of their contemporaries sitting in the audience," he said. "That's why you do it in New York or L.A., because that's where these people are. They're not in Cleveland and they don't care about getting on a jet and going to Cleveland."
Stern said the show's producers should take a cue from the New Year's Rockin' Eve program, where cameras "cut to Fergie in Los Angeles once in a while even though they're doing it in Times Square. ... Cut to Cleveland and have something going on there. Have Nina Simone sitting there." When he was reminded that the singer, who is part of this year's induction class, died in 2003, he joked, "Bring her casket."
The bottom line, Stern said, is that if you want to make good television, you "do it where there are people who are interesting to look at." "Wait till I get up and make this speech," he laughed. "Poor Jon and his band. I'm gonna lay it all out in my State of the Union. Because someone's gotta educate people. It's my role."