The Phantoms wins Canadian Screenwriting Award

CBC TV movie The Phantoms, based on the story of the New Brunswick high school basketball team who rallied to win a provincial championship a year after a bus crash which took the lives of seven players and the coach's wife, has won an award for screenwriting.

The Phantoms writer Andrew Wreggitt won the award for best movie or miniseries, one of 10 Canadian Screenwriting Awards handed out Monday night by the Writers' Guild of Canada.

The film was controversial because some Bathurst, N.B., residents, including parents of the boys who died in a crash in 2008, said it was shot too soon after the real tragedy.

Wreggitt, who also wrote Mayerthorpe and The Don Cherry Story for TV, was honoured at a gala in Toronto hosted by Ryan Belleville.

In the TV drama category, the winner was The L.A. Complex, written by Martin Gero, a now-cancelled series about a group of young would-be actors and entertainers who all live in the same Los Angeles apartment building.

The co-creators of Flashpoint, Mark Ellis and Stephanie Morgenstern, were recognized with the Showrunner Award for their creative vision over the five seasons of the show. The CTV-CBS police procedural wrapped up its run last December.

Yannick Bisson of Murdoch Mysteries, Sergio Di Zio of Flashpoint, Erica Durance of Saving Hope and Dave Lawrence of Fubar were among the presenters at the screenwriting awards gala.

Other winners named Monday:

• Shorts and webseries: YouTube-based kids' series Ruby Skye P.I.: The Haunted Library, "#Creepy," written by Julie Strassman-Cohn & Jill Golick.
• TV comedy: Less Than Kind, "Jerk Chicken," written by Kim Coghill.
• Animation: Sidekick, "I Sidebot," written by Dan Williams and Lienne Sawatsky.
• Children and youth: How to be Indie, "How to Make a Christmas Miracle," written by John May and Suzanne Bolch.
• Documentary: A Sorry State, written by Mitch Miyagawa.
• Jim Burt Screenwriting Prize (which awards development money to an unshot screenplay): Wild Medicine by Adam Garnet Jones.

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Netflix adds 2 million U.S. subscribers

Netflix's decision to feature original programming on its Internet video service appears to be pulling in more customers.

Numbers released Monday showed Netflix Inc. added 2 million U.S. subscribers to its video streaming service during the first three months of the year. Through March, Netflix had 29.2 million U.S. streaming subscribers.

The period was highlighted by the early February debut of House of Cards, a critically acclaimed series made exclusively for Netflix. This quarter includes the debut of more original series — the supernatural drama Hemlock Grove, which arrived on April 19, and the much-anticipated return of the comedy Arrested Development in May.

The subscriber growth helped Netflix bounce back from a loss at the same time last year and generate revenue slightly above analyst projections.

The company eked out a profit of $3 million, or 5 cents per share, in the quarter. That contrasted with a loss of nearly $5 million, or 8 cents per share last year.

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Artist David Blackwood finds freedom in old age

Artist David Blackwood is known for his iconic prints of Newfoundland, which range from wondrous scenes of whales diving under fishing boats to harrowing depictions of sealers awaiting their death on Labrador ice floes.

Rendered in black and indigo blue, the prints — which have been exhibited at major Canadian galleries, including the Art Gallery of Ontario, as well as international hubs including the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy — feel as cold as the places they depict.

But inside Blackwood's sunlit Port Hope, Ont., studio, there's colour everywhere. One new artwork, titled Ephraim Kelloway's Door, is painted with striking blues and greens — like the water under an iceberg — as well as the reds and oranges of a badly rusted car.

This is a big change of direction for the 71-year-old artist. Blackwood says his turn to colour in the last few years is the result of the freedom that comes with artistic success, as well as age.

"I'm in a position where I feel free to destroy the thing if need be … so there's a feeling of exploration, a wonderful feeling of knowing you still have something to discover, something to learn," Blackwood says.

"I'm terrified of formulaic work."

Iconic prints

That may seem strange for someone who has created thousands upon thousands of prints, many focused on iconic items: trigger mittens, gas lamps and boats big and small.

Blackwood grew up and began drawing in Wesleyville, one of many rural Newfoundland towns dotting Bonavista Bay's craggy shoreline. He didn't make a print until he left home to study at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, where a teacher noticed his sketching ability and introduced him to printing.

Making prints requires intense concentration, Blackwood says, something that fit his work ethic. During the process, Blackwood etches a detailed scene, all in reverse, onto a copper plate before inking it and rolling it through a massive press.

Blackwood has elevated his craft by using rosin to create textures in his prints, and by using multiple shades of ink, including reds to denote fire or a fleeting bit of heat.

His hulking printing press currently occupies an entire corner of his two-storey studio. Almost the entire first floor is devoted to prints. Upstairs, Blackwood paints.

'There are so many possibilities'

Painting is freedom for Blackwood. It's his chance to play around with shapes, colours and textures, all of it guided by an eye that has studied art fiercely since his 20s.

Blackwood calls himself 'a perpetual student' of art. (John Rieti/CBC)

The new work he showed me, Ephraim Kelloway's Door, provides a glimpse of how Blackwood's work is evolving. The actual door once belonged to Wesleyville fisherman Ephraim Kelloway. Several years ago Blackwood salvaged it, saving it from certain decay and making it into a recurring image in his prints.

The newest version of Kelloway's door is a wood construction Blackwood crafted himself, giving it three dimensions. Its vibrant colours are due to the encaustic technique Blackwood now favours, which involves stirring powdered pigments into hot wax. The technique dates back to ancient Egypt, but it's brand new to Blackwood.

His newfound love for colour is clear on the sketched plans for an upcoming work tacked on his wall: "Siennas, greens, umbers … wow!" his notes on the paper read. While his prints made his name in the art world, Blackwood says the painting has always been there. Many in the art community were surprised a few years ago when he launched an entire show of floral watercolours based on the flowers his wife, Anita, brings in from their garden.

"All those prints take tremendous focus," Blackwood says. "Painting is great because you don't need to know anything about painting to have a good time. There are so many possibilities."

Blackwood isn't sure where his art will go next, but like the painters he idolizes — Picasso, Matisse — he says he'll keep working until it's impossible.

"Retirement is a deadly, deadly word," he says, shaking his head.

Lucky for him, he says, "There is no retirement for the artist."

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Woodstock opener Richie Havens dies of heart attack

Richie Havens, the folk singer and guitarist who was the first performer at the 1969 Woodstock Festival, died Monday. He was 72.

Havens died of a heart attack in New Jersey, his family said in a statement. He was born in Brooklyn.

Havens was known for his crafty guitar work and cover songs, including his well-received cover of Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman.

His performance at the three-day 1969 Woodstock Festival, where headliners included Jimi Hendrix, was a turning point in his career. He was the first act to hit the stage, performing for nearly three hours. His performance of Freedom — based from the spiritual Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child — became an anthem. Havens returned to the site during Woodstock's 40th anniversary in 2009.

"Everything in my life, and so many others, is attached to that train," he said in an interview that year with The Associated Press.

Bumped up at Woodstock

Woodstock remains one of the events that continues to define the 1960s in the popular imagination. Performers included The Who, Janis Joplin, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and dozens of others, and the trippy anarchy of Woodstock has become legendary. There was lots of nudity, casual sex, dirty dancing and open drug use. The stage announcer famously warned people to steer clear of the brown acid.

Havens had originally been scheduled to go on fifth but got bumped up because of travel delays. Festival producer Michael Lang said in the book The Road to Woodstock that he chose Havens "because of his calm but powerful demeanour."

His performance lasted hours because the next act hadn't showed up.

"So I'd go back and sing three more," Havens said in an interview with NPR. "This happened six times. So I sung every song I knew."

Havens' website said he had kidney surgery in 2010 and that he never recovered enough to perform concerts like he used to. He performed at Bill Clinton's presidential Inauguration in 1993.

Havens, whose breakthrough album Mixed Bag came out on Verve Forecast in 1967, released more than 25 albums. He sang with doo-wop groups on the street corner in his Brooklyn neighborhood at an early age. At 20, he moved to New York City's Greenwich Village, where he performed poetry, listened to folk music and learned how to play the guitar.

"I saw the Village as a place to escape to in order to express yourself," he said in his biography.

His biggest commercial success came with his 1970 album Alarm Clock, which included his hit single cover of Beatle George Harrison's Here Comes the Sun.

Could 'never be replicated'

Stephen Stills said he remembered hanging out with Havens in Greenwich Village and experiencing the singer's talent.

Richie Havens is seen playing at the Cannes Film festival in 2008, the year he released his final album Nobody Left to Crown. (Jeff Christensen/Associated Press)

"Richie Havens was one of the nicest, most generous and pure individuals I have ever met," Stills said in a statement, adding that Havens was unique and could "never be replicated."

"When I was a young sprite in Greenwich Village, we used to have breakfast together at the diner on 6th Avenue next to The Waverly Theatre. He was very wise in the ways of our calling. He always caught fire every time he played."

Havens' last album was 2008's Nobody Left to Crown. He also started his own record label called Stormy Forest in 2000.

"I really sing songs that move me," he said in an interview with The Denver Post. "I'm not in show business; I'm in the communications business. That's what it's about for me."

Havens also became an actor in the 1970s and was featured in the original stage presentation of The Who's Tommy. He appeared in the 1974 film Catch My Soul and co-starred with Richard Pryor in Greased Lightning in 1977.

Havens was the eldest of nine children. He is survived by his four daughters and many grandchildren.

A public memorial for Havens will be planned for a later date.

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At Coachella with Divine Fits' Dan Boeckner

Divine Fits at Coachella on April 19. They've been dubbed a supergroup. (Devon Goodsell)

Divine Fits frontman Dan Boeckner likens playing a festival like the infamous Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival outside of Palm Springs, Calif., to "being dropped in the middle of the jungle with no supplies and a rabid tiger at your back" — because there's little time to set up and things often go wrong.

But when the band — Boeckner on guitar and vocals; Spoon's Britt Daniels, who does vocals and bass; Alex Fischel on keyboards; and drummer Sam Brown of New Bomb Turks fame — took the stage Friday, Boeckner looked anything but intimidated.

"I like it because — not that we don't always put on our best show, but you really have to project to the audience and it's kind of a challenge ... And honestly, usually people are just there to have a good time and when they hear loud sounds coming out of the big black boxes on stage, they like it," Boeckner said.

Two weekend festival

"You're part of this larger sort of machine of entertainment that's happening during the day and ... It's not about you. It's about people listening to music."

Boeckner, who grew up in the small community of Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, says playing a festival like Coachella — a three-day outdoor music festival that spans two weekends — is beyond anything he thought possible.

Dan Boeckner says playing Coachella like having a tiger at your back. (Devon Goodsell) "Honestly, when I was playing the Duncan community centre when I was 15 years old I assumed that the best I could possibly hope for was playing in, like, Lynn Valley at a community centre ... that was the big time," he said.

"With this band and the bands I've been in before, I've gotten to travel pretty much all over the world. I got to go to China twice in the last three years for a couple months at a time ... Like, things could have turned out a lot worse than they did for me."

Before starting Divine Fits, Boeckner saw critical success with indie bands Wolf Parade and Handsome Furs, which took home a Polaris Prize last year.

When Divine Fits released their debut album A Thing Called Divine Fits in 2012, they were dubbed a supergroup by critics.

"I think music journalists, they need to put a label on something, they need a hook," Boeckner said. "Because there's so many bands. You can't just be like, 'Four guys started a band. They're from bands you used to know.' They need something to draw people in. The supergroup thing didn't bother me because it's just kind of meaningless."

New project

In addition to playing a slew of festivals in the coming months — including stops in Dallas, TX, Chicago, IL, Calgary, Alta., and Squamish, B.C. — Boeckner is also working on a new project called Operators.

"It's a real mix of like electronics and lots of live drums and guitar. I'm kind of tapping into my ... I listened to a lot of Fugazi when I was a kid, so it's that plus my love of New Order. That's kind of how it's shaking up."

And the 35-year-old has no intention of slowing down any time soon.

"I feel lucky to be able to be creative for a living. That's a luxury, considering the economy is in the toilet. If I get tired and I'm at the studio and I'm like, 'Oh God, it's three in the morning, I've got to finish this song,' I'm like, 'Well, at least I'm not working at a telemarketing company any more,'" he said.

Relocates to L.A.

"I feel like I'm lucky that people want to pay money to listen to stuff that I come up with in my head or go see me jump around on stage and yell, and that's amazing. So if I were to not take full advantage of that, I'd be an a**hole."

The Canadian rocker recently relocated to Los Angeles from Montreal — and he says the decision to leave Canada wasn't an easy one.

"You know what I miss most of all? The f***ing CBC. I listen to Q on my iPhone, the podcast," Boeckner said.

"There's a certain tone that the CBC has, an acoustic tone. I don't even mean journalistically ... It's always the clearest radio station and that rich sound reminds me of being a child, so I like it."

— by Devon Goodsell

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Carly Rae Jepsen big winner at Juno Awards

Mission, B.C. singer Carly Rae Jepsen is going home from the Junos with three of the five awards for which she was nominated, including album of the year.

She took the top honour Sunday night in Regina for her album, Kiss, the release she created last year after Justin Bieber brought her to the attention of his record label.

"There are so many people who deserve this. Thank you so much," she said as she accepted the award from veteran singer Tom Cochrane.

Backstage, she said she expected Justin Bieber, who lost out to her in two of the categories, would be happy for her.

"I think in general (it's) a shared success," said Jepsen, who said she hadn't heard from him yet but was "sure he'll send some love."

"The fact that he has really been my main supporter and he signed me, and because of that I was able to make the record Kiss and sort of be exposed to the world beyond Canada. So I have nothing to say to him other than thank you and I know he's been rooting for me just as much as his own stuff."

Bieber took the fan-voted Fan Choice Award and veteran singer Leonard Cohen was named artist of the year.

Carly Rae Jepsen performs at the Juno Awards Sunday. (Liam Richards/Associated Press)

But the evening belonged to Jepsen, who stepped into the pop spotlight with her hit Call Me Maybe last year, declared "song of the summer" by Billboard magazine.

Call Me Maybe continues to be a sensation for the 27-year-old singer. She started off her Juno performance with the song before moving into other tunes from her album, Kiss, declared best pop album on Saturday.

Then she went on to win best single for Call Me Maybe.

"It's crazy when you think one song can change your life, and it's true, but it's also so, so many people.... The fans -- this is for you!" Jepsen said, before thanking a string of supporters, among them Bieber, who sealed her popularity when he promoted the video for Call Me Maybe to his legions of fans.

Bieber went into the Junos with four nominations, but lost in every category but Fan Choice. The Stratford, Ont., teen is on tour and was not present to accept his award.

Veteran singer Cohen was given the honours for songwriter of the year Sunday, with the award citing three songs from his latest album Old Ideas — Amen, Going Home and Show Me the Place. Cohen also was absent, but his son Adam Cohen accepted it on his behalf.

"I know he has a deep fondness for the love that Canada has always expressed toward him," Adam Cohen said. "He refers to Canada as the beating heart of his career."

On Saturday night, when the bulk of the prizes were handed out, Cohen scored another major prize — artist of the year.

Singer Michael Bublé hosted the Juno gala Sunday, opening the show with a skit that saw comedian Russell Peters, Dr. Phil and other personalities cast doubts on his ability to host the gala. He repeatedly made light of his slick image throughout the televised broadcast, but proved a genial host for an evening full of strong performances.

Serena Ryder started the evening's musical acts with her newest hit Stompa. Saskatoon's The Sheepdogs, Montreal's Metric, Billy Talent and David Myles and Classified also performed.

k.d. lang's heartfelt speech

But the highlight of the evening was k.d. lang's moving thank you to Canada after her induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

There was a standing ovation for k.d. lang after her speech accepting induction into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, (Liam Richards/Associated Press)

Anne Murray gave a fond look back at k.d. lang's career – including when lang accepted her first Juno wearing a wedding gown – as she feted the Edmonton-born singer.

"I loved her sense of fun, her spunk, her gumption, and she could sing," Murray said, recalling lang's wild 1985 look. "She went on to show that a great voice could sing anything it wants. She defies labeling."

Lang, whose 30-year career has ranged from country to pop to contemporary and back to country, accepted the honour wearing a black suit.

"Thank you so much for all your support over the years.I think the fact that I'm standing here receiving this award actually says more about Canada than it does about me," she said.

"Only in Canada could there be such a freak as k.d. lang receiving this award. Only in Canada could there be people like Stompin' Tom Connors and Rita MacNeil. I want to tell you my friends and my countrymen that it is OK to be you. "

"It is OK to let your freak flags fly and embrace the quirkmeister that's inside of all of us. And I'm not even just talking artists, I'm talking every single person in this nation has the right to be themselves, live life... I love you Canada, thank you so much."

Backstage Lang revealed she'd spent a long time since learning she would be inducted meditating on what the honour meant.

"I just really think that Canada's a special place. Not very many people would allow people like myself, Rita and Stompin' Tom to become national symbols," she told CBC News.

Wins for Serena Ryder, Weeknd

Ryder took one of the evening's final Junos — best adult alternative release for Harmony, an album she said she wrote in a three-week burst of creativity before recording it in a studio at her Toronto home.

"It's unreal. Unbelievable," she said backstage. "I'm so proud right now because I had the most fun making this record out of any record I've ever made. I just feel so proud and so excited."

The Weeknd — the stage name for 23-year-old Toronto native Abel Tesfaye — was a double winner at the non-televised event Saturday, winning both breakthrough artist of the year and R&B/soul recording of the year for his epic, ennui-steeped Trilogy. The album began life as three separately released free-to-download mixtapes yet still went gold in Canada and the U.S. upon its official commercial release.

Vancouver's Marianas Trench were surprise winners of group of the year. (Liam Richards/Associated Press)

The artist, known for shunning publicity, was not on hand to claim his award.

Hamilton, Ont.-based band Monster Truck were named breakthrough group of the year. The band, formed in 2009, are known for their single Seven Seas Blues.

The band made its name mainly through touring and live performances,

"Deep Purple was huge, we played with Deep Purple a year and a half ago and that's pretty much as big as it gets, really," said singer Jon Harvey in a backstage interview. The band has a new album, Furiosity, out May 28.

Vancouver pop-emo band Marianas Trench won the award for group of the year, triumphing in a field that included Rush, who were inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame just last week.

Rush's Clockwork Angels did take the honours for best rock album Saturday night.

Montreal's Metric were also double winners, taking home the award for best alternative album for Synthetica and producer of the year for James Shaw.

"We've had some crazy times in the last year, including the release of Synthetica, played at Radio City Music Hall with Lou Reed, playing with best and oldest friends Stars," Shaw said. "Last year was special and we're taking a little time to envision the future to see what's next."

With files from the Canadian Press

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Divinyls lead singer Chrissy Amphlett dies at 53

Chrissy Amphlett, the lead singer of the Australian rock band Divinyls whose hit I Touch Myself brought her international fame in the early 1990s, died at her home in New York on Sunday. She was 53 years old.

"Christine Joy Amphlett succumbed to the effects of breast cancer and multiple sclerosis, diseases she vigorously fought with exceptional bravery and dignity," her musician husband Charley Drayton said in a statement.

"Chrissy's light burns so very brightly. Hers was a life of passion and creativity. She always lived it to the fullest. With her force of character and vocal strength, she paved the way for strong, sexy, outspoken women," he said.

Amphlett was an icon of Australian music renowned for her distinctive singing voice as well as edgy stage performances clad in school uniforms and fishnet stockings.

She was born on Oct. 25, 1959, in Geelong city in Victoria state, cousin of 1960s Australian pop star Patricia Amphlett, known as "Little Pattie," who was at her New York bedside on Sunday.

Amphlett met musician Mark McEntee at a concert at the Sydney Opera House in 1980 and the pair formed the Divinyls.

The band released six albums between 1982 and 1996, peaking in 1991 with the success of the single I Touch Myself which reached No. 1 in Australia, No. 4 in the United States and No. 10 in Britain.

The band reformed briefly in 2006. Amphlett announced in 2007 that she had multiple sclerosis and in 2010 that she had cancer.

Amphlett was also an actress who made her movie debut in the 1982 Australian film Monkey Grip, which featured several Divinyls tracks, and appeared in the stage musical The Boy from Oz as Judy Garland.

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Rita MacNeil being laid to rest today at Big Pond

A funeral service will be held on Monday afternoon for acclaimed Cape Breton singer-songwriter Rita MacNeil at a church in her Nova Scotia hometown of Big Pond.

The 68-year-old singer died last week following complications from surgery after a recurring infection.

The service, scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. AT, is being held at St. Mary's Parish — a church that is just up the road from MacNeil's home and holds about 200 people. Approximately 50 family members are expected to attend.

Father Joe Gillis told CBC News the service will be about 40 minutes long and will include readings by members of MacNeil's family, such as her niece and first cousin.

Laura Lewis, MacNeil's daughter, is also expected to speak.

At the front of the church will be MacNeil's remains, which have been cremated and placed in a white teapot with her name written on the side. It's a nod to Rita's Tea Room, which she opened in her hometown of Big Pond in 1986. MacNeil gave regular performances at the former one-room schoolhouse, which she bought in 1982 and renovated.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the service at St. Mary's Parish, which overlooks the Bras d'Or Lake. Up to 450 people will be seated at the Big Pond Community Fire Hall nearby, where they will be able to watch the funeral through a live video feed.

A reception will take place at the fire hall after the funeral.

MacNeil, who was one of eight children, moved to Toronto at age 17, wrote her first song there and began singing in folk clubs. She later moved to Ottawa, where she recorded three albums, but eventually returned to Big Pond, where she formed a trio.

Her powerful voice explored genres from country to folk to gospel.

MacNeil worked tirelessly over decades to gradually become a beloved fixture in Canadian culture, with her greatest success coming after she was in her 40s. She recorded 24 albums and sold millions of records over the course of her career.

A recording of Weary Travelers, a song from her last album, is expected to be played at the funeral.

MacNeil, who was also a member of the Order of Canada and the recipient of five honorary doctorates, has been praised by many for her wisdom and humility.

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Olga Kurylenko on Terrence Malick's To The Wonder

Western audiences might recall her best from her turn as a seductive, vengeance-seeking Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, but for Ukrainian-born actress and former model Olga Kurylenko, Terrence Malick's drama To The Wonder is closer to the films she's most eager to make — and more like the French films she's already got under her belt.

Starring Kurylenko and Ben Affleck, the meditative drama tells the story of a newly married man who becames drawn to a former flame. The cast also includes Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem.

During a stop in Toronto last fall to unveil To The Wonder at the Toronto International Film Festival, Kurylenko talked to CBC News about acting without a script, staying in character for more than a month and working with the philosophical Malick, known for his expansive and impressionistic filmmaking.

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Rush's Rock Hall induction 'a nice pat on the back'

Rush fans can relax. The band is now officially in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Canadian rockers were welcomed into the musical fraternity at Thursday night's 28th annual induction ceremony by the Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. At the beginning of the Nokia Theatre event, the audience was already administering a standing ovation to the group.

"We've been saying for a long time that this wasn't a big deal," drummer-lyricist Neil Peart told the crowd, most of whom came out to specifically support the band.

"It turns out, it kind of is."

Rush gained entry following its first appearance on the ballot after repeatedly being left off the list since gaining eligibility in 1998, to the great consternation of the legion of Rush fans who cried bias against progressive rock.

"It's nothing we expected to be excited about and I think that's making it even nicer. It's one of the things you don't think about: you're busy making records and touring and trying to have a life. This is something that's outside your control. So when we heard that we were going to be inducted, it was a nice pleasant smile and a pat on the back," Geddy Lee told CBC from the red carpet before the show.

"We've been fortunate to have a long career and we're still going, so that's really sweet. And to get something like this along the way is fantastic."

The long wait didn't seem to matter at Thursday's star-studded concert event, which ran over five hours. Peart, guitarist Alex Lifeson and lead singer-bassist Geddy Lee made up for lost time by launching into a rambunctious rendition of Tom Sawyer in front of the more than 7,000 attendees.

Rush was among this year's eight eclectic inductees, which also included fellow classic rockers Heart, singer-songwriter Randy Newman, rap group Public Enemy, disco queen Donna Summer, bluesman Albert King, and producers Quincy Jones and Lou Adler.

Rock hall inductees Ann Wilson, left, and Nancy Wilson of Heart pose for photographers. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

For Heart, entering the hall of fame isn't just about music.

"Our long and winding road has always been about the magical power of love and the enduring strength of family," said Nancy Wilson. "We came from an era when women normally did not rock and women were not expected to be leaders."

Wilson, her sister, Nancy, and their band mates celebrated their induction with lively performances of Crazy On You, Dreamboat Annie and Barracuda.

Celebrity fans toast inductees

Adler was inducted by comedy duo Richard "Cheech" Marin and Tommy Chong before being serenaded by Carole King with So Far Away. Jack Nicholson was among Adler's fans in the audience who lavished the producer-mogul a standing ovation.

With his guitar around his neck, John Mayer inducted the late King before joining Gary Clark Jr. for King-tinged jam session.

"Albert King is why guitar-face was invented," joked Mayer.

Newman — joined by Jackson Browne, John Fogerty and Tom Petty — kicked off the Los Angeles ceremony with a performance of his classic I Love L.A. It was an appropriate song choice given the fact this year's event marks the first time since 1993 that the Cleveland institution has held its induction ceremony on the West Coast. Backstage, Newman was matter-of-fact about his inclusion.

"I didn't think it would happen until I died or something," he said.

Oprah Winfrey was on hand to welcome Jones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Usher lauded the producer-mogul with a rendition of the Michael Jackson tune Rock with You.

Jennifer Hudson paid tribute to Summer with a medley of her hits, much to the chagrin of Flava Flav. The Public Enemy rapper, clad in an all-white tux, was the only person in the crowd who remained on his feet throughout her performance. He later commanded the microphone for a long-winded acceptance speech when Public Enemy was recognized. His colleague, Chuck D, was more succinct in his remarks.

"Let us all not forget, we all come from the damn blues," he told detractors.

Thursday's event concluded with all-star jam session featuring Rush, Heart, Chuck D, Grohl, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello and others riffing together on stage.

The induction ceremony will be broadcast May 18 on HBO.

Rock Hall of Fame inductees, from left, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Alex Lifeson of Rush, Darryl 'D.M.C.' McDaniels of Public Enemy, Ann Wilson of Heart and musician presenter Dave Grohl jam onstage. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

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