By Armando

It was a memorable night of great music and personal moments for the class of 2017 who were induced into annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame friday night. The ceremony was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Inductees include Pearl Jam, Joan Baez, Tupac Shakur, Electric Light Orchestra, Journey and Yes, while producer and guitarist Nile Rodgers received a special award for musical excellence.

For the first time in more than ten years, the surviving members of Yes’ performed on stage. Also a special night for Journey fans, Steve Perry was back on stage along with Neal Schon and the rest of the band to accept their award. Kravitz also performed to honor Prince with an emotional performance of “When Doves Cry”.

David Letterman inducted Pearl Jam and praised the band for years of great music as well as their off stage work. “Human rights, environment, whether it was poverty, they didn’t let it wash over them, they would stand up and react,” he said. There is no doubt Letterman is a big Pearl Jam fan. He raved about the band’s “Hail, Hail” performance back in 1996, and since then came back six more times on the show.

For his part Vedder talked about a new generation of voices specifically Chance the Rapper. “That’s the kind of music activism that gives us all hope,” Vedder said.