Georgia Entertainment Scene
Georgia Entertainment Scene

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame cancels live ceremony; HBO special will honor inductees

This combination photo shows Notorious B.I.G., who won rap artist and rap single of the year, during the annual Billboard Music Awards in New York on Dec. 6, 1995, left, and singer Whitney Houston at the BET Honors in Washington on Jan. 17, 2009. The pair will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2020 class. (AP Photo)
This combination photo shows Notorious B.I.G., who won rap artist and rap single of the year, during the annual Billboard Music Awards in New York on Dec. 6, 1995, left, and singer Whitney Houston at the BET Honors in Washington on Jan. 17, 2009. The pair will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2020 class. (AP Photo)
By Melissa Ruggieri
July 8, 2020

This year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class will be forced to celebrate virtually.

The annual live induction ceremony, which had been moved from May to November in Cleveland, has now been canceled and will be replaced by an HBO special honoring the 2020 inductees: Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G., T-Rex, and Ahmet Ertegun Award honorees Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.

The program will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max at 8 p.m. Nov. 7.

“To protect the health and safety of our Inductees, their families, crews and our attendees, we’ve made the decision that the scheduled live event is not possible,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “Together with HBO and executive producer Joel Gallen, we will still create an exciting program honoring our 2020 inductees, by telling the stories of their incredible contributions to music and impact on a generation of artists that followed them.”

The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is slated to take place next fall in Cleveland, home of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The museum has reopened and will debut its exhibit about the 2020 inductees on Aug. 14.

Follow the Atlanta Music Scene on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Author

Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.

Follow Melissa Ruggieri on facebookFollow Melissa Ruggieri on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

Dagmar Midcap, a popular weather forecaster on what was then WGCL-TV from 2008 to 2010 in Atlanta, has returned to Atlanta and the new CBS Atlanta operation. (AJC file)

Credit: AJC FILE/FB PUBLIC PROFILE P

Dagmar Midcap coming back to Atlanta TV 15 years after departure

Meteorologist Dagmar Midcap makes a surprise return to Atlanta broadcast airwaves after a 15-year absence, courtesy of the new CBS Atlanta news operation.

Bookshelf: Long-awaited follow-up to ‘The Help’ slated for spring release

Plus the return of the Atlanta Indie Bookshop Crawl, the release of a new cozy mystery and more.

Kel Mitchell, Renee Montgomery boost Atlanta youth sports in new Nick show

Kel Mitchell of “All That” fame and Atlanta Dream owner and former WNBA player Renee Montgomery make over youth sports fields in metro Atlanta in a new Nickelodeon TV show.

The Latest

ajc.com

What movies made in Georgia have made the most money since 2008?

‘Ride Along’ producer Will Packer promotes ‘healthy arrogance’ in new book

Check out three new reality shows with Atlanta ties

Featured

Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. (Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez

‘Worst nightmares come true.’ Atlanta confronts shift in homelessness funding.

Trump’s overhaul threatens permanent housing for an estimated 600 Atlanta households and 170,000 people nationwide, advocates warn.

Microsoft’s newest AI ‘superfactory’ opens at sprawling Fayetteville campus

One of the largest data center campuses under construction in Georgia has its first operational tenant, and it’s one of the most recognizable names in technology.

Atlanta officials quietly rebrand city’s DEI office

The city of Atlanta office overseeing diversity, equity and inclusion is getting a rebrand amid assaults at the federal level on such initiatives.