ALICE COOPER, ROB ZOMBIE: Highlights From 'Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame' FUSE TV Broadcast

Highlights from the 2011 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame aired last night (March 20) on Fuse TV. Legendary rocker Alice Cooper was inducted by recent touring partner Rob Zombie, who set the tone for how Cooper came to make his presence known at the turn of the '60s. "Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, I was thinking about rock and roll heroes and what they mean — we love rock and roll heroes because they're cooler than us, they're smarter than us, they're richer than us. And we all love 'em, right?" he said. "Wrong. I mean, let's put it into perspective. I mean, I don't wanna name names, but let's say James Bond; what good is James Bond without 'Goldfinger', or 'Dr. No', or 'Pussy Galore'? He's just a suave, boring guy in a tux with a nit-picky drink order that likes to say his name a lot. (laughter) In 1969, that was essentially what had happened to rock. All heroes — no villains. And you're thinking 'What about Jerry Lee Lewis? What about Keith Richards?' Bad-ass motherfuckers, to be sure — but not villains. But then in 1969 a very special event happened. It was in Venice, California at the Cheetah Club, where a new band ALICE COOPER appeared on stage. (applause) You say that now, but not in 1969 (laughter),because that show was famous for the fact that within five minutes, they cleared the room (laughter). Everyone hated them — except one man who saw the beauty and that was Frank Zappa."

Alice Cooper paid tribute to the key acts that initially inspired the band. "Bands that really hit home for us were THE YARDBIRDS, THE WHO, THE KINKS — they gave us our musical education," he said. "I hope I never outgrow a Pete Townshend windmill chord, I hope I never outgrow a Jeff Beck lead guitar (applause). If I do, just shoot me (laughter). We've always been a hard rock band — we just wanted to decorate it a little bit differently. I wish I could tell you that being in the Hall now that we'll never embarrass you, (laughs) but I really can't make that promise."

Alice Cooper admitted that while grateful, for the award he couldn't help but tally the dozens of worthy acts that have yet to make it into the Hall Of Fame. "When you're nominated and then you find out you're in, you immediately start thinking of guys that aren't in; THE MOODY BLUES, DEEP PURPLE, DONOVAN, y'know, STEVE MILLER — there's a whole, bunch of guys there that aren't in that will eventually be in. All the prog rock guys, Joe Cocker — I mean there's a bunch of guys out there that will eventually be in, I'm pretty sure. I don't know why it takes so long; we weren't nominated for 16 years, we got nominated once and got it. So that really nice for us. We really appreciate it."

According to The Pulse Of Radio, artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll. The Foundation's nominating committee selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes, and more than 50 percent of the vote, are inducted.