{"id":785380,"date":"2026-05-10T00:14:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T00:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785380\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T00:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T00:14:20","slug":"janet-jackson-makes-rare-public-appearance-as-rhythm-nation-1814-enters-grammy-hall-of-fame-its-an-ongoing-force-that-cannot-be-stopped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785380\/","title":{"rendered":"Janet Jackson makes rare public appearance as \u2018Rhythm Nation 1814\u2019 enters Grammy Hall of Fame: \u2018It\u2019s an ongoing force that cannot be stopped\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThis is a big deal,\u201d a visibly moved Lucinda Williams declared Friday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, as Car Wheels on a Gravel Road \u2014 her landmark 1998 album that \u201cobsessed\u201d Williams fan and gala host Anthony Mason said \u201cliterally created its own category of music\u201d\u2014 was inducted into the Grammy Museum’s Grammy Hall of Fame. \u201cI want to thank the people who supported me all those years when they said my music fell in the cracks between country and rock, which later became known as Americana. Don’t give up if your music falls on the cracks. That’s where it’s supposed to be. That’s a good place. \u2026 You don’t know how good it feels to be recognized and supported in the music business. It feels really good to be recognized for what you do, and not how many records you sell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLYWilliams\u2019s heartfelt statement, which elicited roaring applause from the ballroom\u2019s all-star attendees, summed up the spirit of the night, as 14 seminal recordings entered the Grammy Hall of Fame \u2014 ranging from Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers\u2019 1950 gospel classic \u201cJesus Gave the Water\u201d (which was performed at the gala by Take 6); to chamber-folk cult hero Nick Drake\u2019s Pink Moon (f\u00eated with a lovely acoustic performance by Taylor Hanson); to \u201cFirst Lady of children’s music\u201d Ella Jenkins\u2019s 1966 album You’ll Sing a Song and I’ll Sing a Song (adorably honored with a spunky, funky performance by 8-year-year-old Aura V, the youngest Grammy-winner ever, and her father Fy\u00fctch); to the 1971 avant-garde jazz opus Journey in Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane (whose award\u00a0was accepted by her daughter, jazz vocalist\/composer Michelle Coltrane); to vaudeville blues singer Bertha \u201cChippie\u201d Hill\u2019s 1926 anthem \u201cTrouble in Mind\u201d and the Rouse Brothers\u2019 oft-covered 1938 fiddle classic \u201cOrange Blossom Special.\u201d<\/p>\n

More from Gold Derby<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some commercially colossal recordings were also inducted at Friday\u2019s ceremony, of course, and perhaps the most colossal was Janet Jackson\u2019s Rhythm Nation 1814 \u2014 with Jackson herself making a rare public appearance to personally accept the honor from Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and her longtime mentor and co-producer, Recording Academy chairman emeritus Jimmy Jam.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album explored themes of racism and poverty inequities, violence, themes that inspired Janet and what she was seeing as it unfolded in communities all across America, including the tragic Cleveland Elementary School shooting at that time. But what’s truly special, and what artists do, is they reflect the world around them. They also challenge us to think deeper, feel more, and sometimes even make change,\u201d Mason Jr. stated. \u201cMore than three decades later, Rhythm Nation still resonates, because the message still resonates. It’s a masterwork of artistry, vision, courage, and cultural impact, an album that made musical history while delivering a powerful statement. And that statement is still relevant today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my partner Terry Lewis and I started working on Rhythm Nation with Janet, we weren’t trying to make a political statement,\u201d Jam added. \u201cWe were simply responding to a world around us. We were watching the news and seeing all the pain, the injustice, and the tragedy, and we asked ourselves: \u2018What could we do?\u2019 We felt a responsibility to use our voices. So, this album, it was a big commercial success, but even better than that, it changed lives. And so did Janet. So much of what we see in music today, especially when it comes to female empowerment, traces back to her influence. \u2026 I’ve heard stories of young people actually going back to school because of that album. And nearly 40 years later, the message still resonates. It’s a reminder that music can heal, unite, and inspire us to change. But also, unfortunately, there’s still a lot of work to still be done. I want to say thank you to the Recording Academy for this award, but I really want to say thank you to Janet for trusting us. Thank you, Janet, for trusting us to bring your vision to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Jackson humbly took the stage and embraced Jam at the podium, she received a standing ovation, in what was the biggest audience reaction of the evening. \u201cI’m so grateful and honored that Rhythm Nation is being recognized tonight in this wonderful, wonderful way,\u201d she said softly. \u201cIt’s beautiful to relive the memories attached to this project that’s so precious to me. Tonight, though, I don’t see Rhythm as a phenomenon that lives in the past; I believe it’s alive and well in 2026. Rhythm still resonates on a deep and profound level. It’s an ongoing force that fights bigotry and promotes understanding. It cannot be stopped. It’s simply too strong and too positive. Rhythm Nation is a movement of people, of all ages and backgrounds, seeking to give and receive love, free of judgment. As we celebrate tonight, let’s remember that it transcends all borders, nationalities, and faiths. I hope you hear my heart’s desire when we first created this suite of songs. More than ever, my hope is that we might live in a world free of fear and despair. The prayer driving this remains the same, exactly the same: that peace prevail. Peace the world over, peace among nations, peace in our neighborhoods, peace in our homes. May the music of Rhythm Nation continue to bring us together in peace, and may that peace allow us to celebrate this precious gift of life that God has given us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Women had a big night at Friday\u2019s gala. Along with the inductions for Jackson, Williams, Jenkins, Hill, and Coltrane, Heart\u2019s 1975 debut album Dreamboat Annie was honored, with trailblazing rock \u2018n\u2019 roll sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson introduced by Anthony Mason as \u201cthe first female-fronted hard rock band to achieve major commercial success \u2026 As Ann Wilson put it, Heart has always been sort of like a cockroach: You can set up a bomb, and it’ll still be alive underneath. Well, they’re not only alive and well, they’re here tonight!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Nancy Wilson and Ann Wilson of Heart perform onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Rebecca Sapp\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

The Wilsons then tore through fiery renditions of \u201cMagic Man,\u201d \u201cCrazy on You,\u201d and Dreamboat Annie\u2019s title track. Ann, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and at Heart\u2019s 2025 concerts performed in a wheelchair due to a broken elbow sustained in a fall, triumphantly stood throughout Heart\u2019s performance, and the gala guests were on their feet as well. The sisters thanked guitarist\/producer Howard Leese and founding Heart guitarist Roger Fisher, who were in attendance, and Roger\u2019s brother and \u00a0Heart\u2019s late manager, \u201coriginal Magic Man\u201d Michael Fisher, with Nancy saying: \u201cThese are the original gypsy tribe that started the whole thing. \u2026 We thank you for your great energy, your resilience, your humor, and your camaraderie. We did this together, and the beautiful poetry and music that we made together still resonates to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Late Latin superstar Selena\u2019s 1994 breakthrough crossover album, Amor Prohibido, featuring her signature song \u201cBidi Bidi Bom Bom,\u201d was also honored with a musical salute by Tejano singer Isabel Marie, a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 mentored, produced, and signed by Selena\u2019s father, Abraham Quintanilla. Selena\u2019s sister, Suzette Quintanilla, accepted the award, stating, \u201cI want to show love to what Selena represents still to this day, so many years later, even though she’s physically gone. Shout-out to my sister, Selena, who will forever be around.\u201d Selena\u2019s longtime collaborator Pete Astudillo added, \u201cSelena would have been freaking out to know that she’s part of the club of 2026!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Isabel Marie Sanchez performs onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

Another diva, 10-time Grammy-winner Norah Jones, was presented with a special honor named after her \u201chero,\u201d the Ray Charles Architect of Sound Award. After performing Charles\u2019s \u201cSeven Spanish Angels\u201d and \u201cHallelujah, I Love Him So,\u201d she gushed, \u201cWhen I met Ray the first time, I burst into tears. We have a picture of it; it’s pretty funny! This means so much. \u2026 My mom listened to Ray Charles in high school. She went to see him in a high school gymnasium. I still have her vinyl of \u2018What’d I Say,\u2019 and she has her notes written after every song from when she was in high school, like: \u2018This one’s great to dance to.\u2019 And so, it has a very special place in my heart. His music is everything to me, and I wouldn’t be anything without listening to it my whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Norah Jones performs onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

Guest star Erykah Badu also mentioned her mother\u2019s influence when she joined George Clinton onstage for a bonkers tribute to Funkadelic\u2019s Maggot Brain, the most roof-raising musical number of the night. \u201cI was in my living room and I saw my mother go crazy, just losing her mind. I had to be 5 or 6, and a song came on the radio called \u2018Flashlight.\u2019 I saw my mother and I watched her lips. I knew it to be something special,\u201d Badu told Clinton (as an instantly recognizable holler of \u201cYeaaaaah, boyyyy!\u201d erupted from the audience, and Clinton responded with \u201cFla-vor Flav!\u201d) Badu continued, \u201cIt is a thing that cannot be described. Millions and millions of memories of those atoms makes me what I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Erykah Badu and George Clinton with Funkadelic perform onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s other Grammy Hall of Fame inductees were Radiohead\u2019s boundary-breaking art-rock classic OK Computer; Tupac Shakur\u2019s All Eyez on Me (the final album released during the rapper\u2019s brief lifetime); and Paid in Full, the debut album by East Coast hip-hop icons Eric B. & Rakim. Shakur\u2019s award was accepted by his childhood friend and Outlawz bandmate E.D.I. Mean, who said, \u201cI’m sure Tupac is smiling real big and saying, \u2018I told you I was a legend!\u2019 He would tell us that. He would look at us in the eye and tell us that every day: \u2018I know I’m a living legend.\u2019 And we’d be like, \u201cOK, all right!\u2019 But Tupac was more than an artist. He was a poet, a revolutionary spirit, and one of the most fearless voices of his generation. He spoke the pain, struggle, love, and the ability to overcome in spite of what you’ve been doing, what you went through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eric B. & Rakim accepted their award in person, giving the most charming speeches of the night. \u201cWe started 40 years ago in [Rakim\u2019s] mother’s basement. I remember like it was yesterday,\u201d Eric grinned. \u201cRakim was down there drinking Ballantine Ale \u2014 but he don’t drink no more, don\u2019t worry about that. I remember him saying, \u2018Yo, bro, I got a great idea, man. We’re going to use James Brown [samples]. We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that.\u201d Rakim’s laughing\u2026 and I said, \u2018Rah, I want to see you laugh like that when we get paid in full!\u2019\u201d Rakim said, \u201cThank you to everybody that supported me and Eric B. throughout our career. This hip-hop journey has been crazy, but I\u2019d do it again. It’s been a blessing thus far, and hopefully a lot more to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Rakim and Eric B. accept an award onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Emma McIntyre\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

The event ended spectacularly with Teddy Swims and Josh Groban\u2019s salute to 2026 Visionary of Music recipient Warner Records, introduced in a rare onstage appearance by the gala\u2019s executive producer Ken Ehrlich, who famously produced the Grammy Awards telecasts for CBS from 1980 to 2020. \u201cI can’t believe that I actually put myself out of here after George Clinton! Whoever said I was a producer?\u201d Ehrlich self-deprecatingly quipped. But Ehrlich, along with producers Ron Basile, Chantel Sausedo, Lindsay Saunders Carl, and Lynne Sheridan, obviously did a wonderful job, giving all 14 inductees the celebration they deserved as they joined the other 1,165 recordings that have entered the Hall since 1973.<\/p>\n

\"BEVERLY<\/p>\n

Teddy Swims performs onstage during the Grammy Hall of Fame Gala 2026.Rebecca Sapp\/Getty Images for The Recording Academy<\/p>\n

The Grammy Hall of Fame Gala annually recognizes musical works that exhibit \u201cqualitative or historical significance.\u201d Mason Jr. said in a statement, \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to recognize these influential recordings. \u2026 Each selection reflects the creativity, craft, and cultural impact that recorded music can carry across decades. We\u2019re honored to help preserve these works and celebrate the artists and communities behind them, so their legacies continue to inspire generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Click here to read the full article. <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThis is a big deal,\u201d a visibly moved Lucinda Williams declared Friday evening at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":785381,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[29],"tags":[285764,182204,321175,321178,171,101766,321174,178547,38288,70102,321177,975,161296,321176,143155,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-785380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-alice-coltrane","tag-ann-wilson","tag-anthony-mason","tag-ella-jenkins","tag-entertainment","tag-george-clinton","tag-grammy-hall-of-fame","tag-grammy-museum","tag-janet-jackson","tag-lucinda-williams","tag-michelle-coltrane","tag-music","tag-nancy-wilson","tag-rhythm-nation","tag-the-recording-academy","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116547398913407629","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}