Dua Lipa and Cher opened the Rock and Roll Hall Fame induction ceremony singing Believe before giving way to a medley by funk masters Kool & the Gang, rock classics by Foreigner and Peter Frampton, and a powerhouse performance by Dionne Warwick, bringing the house down at 83.
Other inductees this year are: Kool & the Gang, Mary J. Blige, A Tribe Called Quest, Ozzy Osbourne, Peter Frampton, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick, the late Alexis Korner, the late John Mayall and the late Big Mama Thornton.
Zendaya inducted Cher on Saturday night.
“Where do I even begin? Cher is not one person,” she said. "Her name is just as legendary as her legacy."
She noted Cher is the only woman to have a number one hit on a Billboard chart in each of the past seven decades.
"Cher has got the goods," Zendaya said before Cher performed a rocking version of If I Could Turn Back Time.
In her speech, Cher said she was inspired by Cinderella and thanked her mother for instilling in her to always get back up after defeat.
“The one thing I got from my mum is to never give up,” she said. “I never give up. I'm talking to the women - down and out, we keep going.
“She said to me, ‘You might not be the prettiest, you might not be the smartest, you might not be the most talented, but you’re special.'”
Chuck D inducted Kool & the Gang, saying “This is a long-due celebration.” The band had 12 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including the 1980 chart-topper Celebration as well as Cherish, Get Down On It, Jungle Boogie, Ladies Night and Joanna.
The Roots helped the band do a medley of hits that got the crowd grooving - led by Robert “Kool” Bell - bass guitarist, co-founder and last original member and longtime singer James “JT” Taylor.
Warwick arrived at the ceremony only a few days after attending a memorial to her long-time friend and collaborator, Cissy Houston, in New Jersey. Teyana Taylor called her “truly one of a kind” before Jennifer Hudson sang I’ll Never Love This Way Again and was joined by Warwick, who also sang Walk On By.
Warwick said it was the third time she was nominated.
“I am so pleased to be here,” she said. “I'm just going to say this and get off the stage: Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Sammy Hagar introduced Foreigner, and thanked their fans for their tenacity to demand inclusion. The English-American rockers - with hits like Cold as Ice and Waiting for a Girl Like You - topped the charts in the 1970s and ’80s but never made it into the Hall, despite being eligible for more than 20 years.
Saturday's induction ceremony is being held at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
