Rock and Roll Returns to Cleveland

Heavy metal giants Metallica were among the eclectic selection inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Saturday night, the Associated Press reported. The San Francisco-based rock band joined pioneers of rap, Run-DMC, blues group Little Antony and the Imperials, soul singer Bobby Womack, and acclaimed guitarist Jeff Beck as the class of 2009.The ceremony was held in Cleveland, where the hall of fame's museum is located, for the first time in 12 years. Previous celebrations have eschewed the city in favor of the glitz and glamour of New York, but it marked a welcome return for some of the guests. "It's great to be here, back home in Cleveland," R&B singer Womack said, according to the New York Times. Womack, 65, was born in Cleveland and got his first big break when he performed as a backup guitarist with legendary crooner Sam Cooke.Other luminaries from the music industry were on hand to induct the honorees. Beck, 64, was inducted by fellow rock god Jimmy Page, with whom Beck was previously inducted in 1992 as members of the Yardbirds. Controversial rapper Eminem honored Run-DMC, enthusiastically insisting, "They were the baddest of the bad and the coolest of the cool. Run-DMC changed my life." The group is only the second hip-hop act to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, after Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five in 2007.Almost 5,000 enthusiastic rock fans lined the balconies in the Public Auditorium to catch a glimpse of their musical idols, joining 1,200 VIPs who paid up to $50,000 for a table in the main auditorium. This is the first year that the induction ceremony has been open to the public.