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Paul McCartney, conspicuous in his absence at the group’s moment
in the sun, gave the induction speech when John was inducted as
a solo artist in 1994. Five years later, it was Paul’s turn
to get the nod, and now five years later, George has been elected
to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Class of 2004". He
is joined by rock legends Bob Seger, Jackson Browne, Prince, ZZ
Top, Traffic and The Dells. Of this elite class, George’s induction
was saved till last, capping off an emotional and memorable evening.
On this night, it was Traveling Wilbury band
mates Jeff Lynne and Tom Petty who presented George
for induction. As was the case with the tribute Concert for George,
this raised more than a few mumbles concerning the whereabouts of
one Bob Dylan. Nonetheless, the occasion was graciously handled,
with George’s wife Olivia and son Dhani on hand
to accept on George’s behalf. Also spotted in the crowd were
Yoko and Sean Lennon, as well as Beatle and Apple confidant Neil
Aspinall.
 As
George’s induction was planned to occur around midnight (some
four hours into the proceedings), the original announcement had
Olivia and Dhani scheduled for a press room appearance
(a photo op and question & answer session) at 7:45 p.m., shortly
before the event kicked off. Regretfully, this appearance never
did materialize. The pair’s only appearance was at the podium
to accept the induction award. Prior to
Tom Petty’s and Jeff Lynne’s speech, a brief
career highlight film was shown, as is customary for all inductees.
Taking the podium, Petty continued:
"He was first inducted into this great hall
as a member of The Beatles, and tonight he receives a second nomination
as a solo artist. Having stood on stage – and off – between
Lennon & McCartney is a really tough spot for an aspiring songwriter.
Yet, learning his craft, he grew into an excellent writer, coming
up with classics like "Something", "Here Comes The
Sun" and many more. He became so prolific that he began to
stockpile large amounts of unreleased songs, and this would become
the basis for his first album All Things Must Pass, which was the
first #1 album by an ex-Beatle. And many more hits would come. He
often said he wasn’t pursuing a solo career at all. He never
hired a manager or had an agent. He just loved playing music with
his friends. And he loved guitars, and he loved rock and roll and
he loved Carl Perkins, and he loved Little Richard, and he loved
Dhani & Olivia. And he loved to stay up all night long and play
the ukulele till dawn, till the kids were all in bed and tucked
away.
 Throughout
the eighties he hit #1 again with his Cloud Nine LP, and then he
formed what he called ‘his other band’, The Traveling
Wilburys. And that was with Jeff Lynne and myself and some other
guys… (causing some uneasy laughter). But George was a man
who lived every single minute of his life. He really filled a room;
he was a very upbeat person. He had a very keen sense of humor,
a very keen sense of spirit. He was never preachy; he led by example.
Years before Live Aid, George invented the idea of rock and roll
giving back to the people. And I know as I look around the room,
that many of you knew him. He was my dear friend and yours, and
the worlds. He achieved much more than being a successful artist.
He was a truly great man. And so we’re going to put him in
the Hall of Fame; we’re going to induct him – gonna just
push him right in there. But I need you all to say "Hare Krishna"
(audience complies…). He’s in there"!
After a brief round of applause, Jeff Lynne took
to the podium. "George was a great friend of mine. And we used
to hang out a lot, and make lots of records. Knowing George as well
as I did, he’s probably watching tonight and saying ‘get
on with it’! So I’d just like to say ‘welcome, mate’,
you’re in the Hall of Fame, where you belong, and it’s
about time. Thanks". Following Lynne’s speech, Olivia
and Dhani took to the stage to the strains of George’s song
"This Is Love" ("helping us all to remember what
we came here for… This Is Love").
 Dhani
spoke first: "Dad actually came back in 1987 (sic - it
was 1988 – ed.) from when he got the last one of these, (turning
towards Olivia, he continued) and I never told you this, but I broke
it. I like glued the bit back in, but no one knows this. He made
a great speech – actually Mick made a great speech – in
‘87 (sic - it was 1988 – ed.) where he referred to The
Beatles as ‘the four-headed monster’ when they were all
inducted, and he told me lots of great stories about dad that night.
And I’d just like to say thanks to all of his mates who he
loved to see; all the guys for coming and playing and to the hall
of fame for having him in – again. And to everyone who’s
ever liked his music…’good on ya’ … cheers".
 Olivia
continued: "Here I go again. I could talk about George
forever, but I won’t. There was a quote by the Indian poet
Tagor that George read to me one day. It said ‘blessed is he
whose fame does not outshine his truth’. Here we are in the
hall of fame. But the inductees are not chosen because of their
fame, but because they express their truth through their music.
George said that he tried to write songs that would still mean something
years from now. And I think it’s safe to say that in spite
his immense fame, his truth will never be out-shined or forgotten.
If he were here, he’d get a kick out of tonight. He’d
be wanting to see everybody and party. But there probably would
be a lot of people that he would thank. If you think of the span
of his entire career, there would be so many people who are in this
room tonight that he may want to mention, but I’m going to
mention one that I’m sure of. And it’s the person in this
room that George knew the longest in his life. That he met behind
the air raid shelter when he was sneaking off to have a ciggie in
school. Someone who looked after him, and all of them, from the
time they were thirteen till – for George – the end of
his life. And that is the mysterious Neil Aspinall. Thank
you Neil for holding it together for all these years, because really,
the whole phenomenon might not have happened or stayed together
as long as it did without him. He’s helped us, he’s helped
his family and George loved him dearly and many of you as well,
so thank you very much. Now let’s let George’s music speak
for itself".
 Following
the acceptance speech, Dhani stuck around to jam with Petty &
Lynne (with Traffic’s Steve Winwood on keyboards) on
one song each from George’s two bands, The Traveling Wilburys
("Handle With Care") and The Beatles ("While My Guitar
Gently Weeps"). The latter featured a blinding guitar solo
by Prince that brought the house down.
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