Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Tonight's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is getting some much-deserved media attention. The event will take place at the Walforf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, with VH1 Classic providing live broadcasts for the folks at home and AOL providing live feeds for those who prefer computer screens to TVs. Be sure to check out the AOL link for pre-show interviews with inductees Michael Stipe, Ronnie Spector, Patti Smith, Sammy Hagar, and Grandmaster Flash.

There's drama, of course, which seems to be quite common whenever Van Halen is involved. David Lee Roth has refused to attend the ceremony, and recently toward the Los Angeles Times that he was barred from singing with Velvet Revolver (who will perform tonight's tribute to Roth's former/possibly-current band). Rock Hall CEO Joel Peresman disagrees, saying that Roth had refused to negotiate his song choice and, as a result, essentially barred himself from joining Scott Weiland and company. Who's telling the truth? We don't really know, but The Rock Radio has more details.

Just to refresh your memory, the Rock Hall's "Class of 2007" consists of Van Halen, Patti Smith, The Ronnettes, REM, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Rap mogul Jay-Z will induct the Furious Five, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder will induct REM, Rage Against the Machine's Zach de la Rocha will usher in Patti Smith, and Keith Richards will do the honors for The Ronnettes. How wonderfully strange. BaebleBlog cannot wait. Check out the action, either on AOL's streaming webscast or VH1 Classic's live broadcast, starting at 8 p.m.