By Alicia Powell

CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) – Taylor Swift serenaded Carole King, former U.S. President Barack Obama praised rapper JAY-Z, and Paul McCartney paid tribute to the Foo Fighters on Saturday at a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony that also honored Tina Turner and The Go-Gos.

Obama called JAY-Z 23-time Grammy Winner “the embodiment” of America’s Dream for his climb from poverty in New York to become a millionaire businessman, songwriter and record executive.

JAYZZ (51), seemed overwhelmed by all the tributes. One of them was from Dave Chappelle.

That’s quite a bit. “Trying to make you cry infront of all these whites!” He made a joke. “Growing up we didn’t think we could be inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It was said that hip-hop is a “fad”.

Swift began the show singing a song called “Will You love me tomorrow” and Jennifer Hudson (NYSE 🙂 sang “A Natural Woman”. Hudson was a tribute to King who, at 79, led the audience in a rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend.”

Swift said Swift: “I don’t recall a time that I didn’t love Carole King’s music.” Swift called her 1971 album Tapestry (NYSE) “a watershed moment” for people who feel connected to the world.

In Cleveland, Ohio, the ceremony was attended by many A-listers, including Dr. Dre (Eminem), Jennifer Lopez, Lionel Richie, Keith Urban, and Lionel Richie.

Christina Aguilera was the leader of a group that performed Turner’s most popular hits.

The singer of “Simply the Best”, who is now living in Switzerland, couldn’t attend the ceremony on Saturday, but sent his thanks via video.

Turner declared, “If I’m still getting awards at 81 they must be doing some thing right.”

Turner shared the honour in 1991 with Ike Turner. But, on Saturday, she was honored for her bigger solo career of the 1980s-90s.

King and Dave Grohl were both twice honored. King and her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin had been previously inducted. Foo Fighters frontman Grohl is a member the grunge rock band Nirvana, which was inducted last year.

McCartney claimed that Grohl was an “ordinary type of goofy kid” who somehow fell into rock and rolling music.

Inducted were The Go-Gos’ 1980s female rock group, rapper LL Cool J and Kraftwerk, German electronic innovators. The late Billy Preston was also inducted.

American multi-instrumentalist Todd Rundgren, 73, was a no-show from his own induction ceremony. Rundgren stated that he was unable to attend as music is not a contest.

This honor recognizes artists who have been in the industry for over 25 years. They are selected based on ballots sent by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to more than 1,200 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Votes were also cast by members of the general public.

The ceremony of 2021 will air on Cable Channel HBO from Nov. 20.