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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its Class of 2013 last night at a ceremony at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles. The new inductees are Rush, Heart, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Donna Summer and Albert King. Donna Summer’s induction was posthumous, following her sad death last year. Albert King passed away in 1992.

Veteran record executive, Lou Adler, and producer-arranger-composer-conductor, Quincy Jones, received the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

This year’s inductees were decided by around 600 votes from Rock Hall members and, for the first time, an online fan ballot.

Randy Newman – inducted by Don Henley

Randy Newman opened the ceremony with a performance of “I Love L.A.,” alongside Jackson Browne, John Fogerty and Tom Petty. He was then inducted by Don Henley, who praised the 69-year-old performer’s “extraordinary body of work.”

“I Love L.A.” – Randy Newman & friends

Rush – inducted by Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters

Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins delivered an enthusiastic induction speech for Rush, with Grohl stating:

“From day one, the band built its following the right way. No hype, no (BS), they did it from the ground up without any help from the mainstream press.

Their influence is undeniable and their devoted fanbase is only rivalled by the Grateful Dead. Look at you people, all of you people, right here! And their legacy is that of a band that stayed true to themselves no matter how uncool they may have seemed to anyone.”

Here’s the complete induction speech:

Rush have been eligible for induction since 1998 and their fans have long complained about what they perceive to be an annual snub. After such a long wait, the fans certainly made their presence felt with the biggest cheers of the night reserved for the band. Rush frontman, Geddy Lee, paid tribute to the band’s fans during his speech:

“We have to thank the most passionate, incredible fanbase around the globe. That’s you guys. For not only supporting and encouraging our musical progress over the years, but for the insistence of their voices, which has most certainly led us to this evening. We share this honour with you. Thank you.”

Less conventional was Alex Lifeson’s three-minute-long speech during which he repeated “blah, blah, blah” over and over, much to the amusement of the crowd.

Hawkins and Grohl then jammed on Rush’s “2112” before being joined by the band who then performed blistering versions of “Tom Sawyer” and “The Spirit of Radio”.

Heart – inducted by Chris Cornell of Soundgarden

After an introduction from Chris Cornell of Soungarden, Heart’s Nancy Wilson said:

“We came from an era when women normally did not rock, and women were not expected to be leaders. There were mainly four jobs for us to choose from: teachers, mothers, nurses or waitresses. Music makes us all equal and perfectly human.”

Heart then performed “Crazy for You,” “Dreamboat Annie” and “Barracuda” with help from Jerry Cantrell, Chris Cornell, and Mike McCready.

“Barracuda” – Heart & friends

The evening included a reunion with former Heart guitarist, Roger Fisher, who left the band in 1980. After the show he said:

“It was magical. It was a very healing moment, and just created closure for all the pain and negativity in the past.”

Public Enemy – inducted by Spike Lee and Harry Belafonte

Film director, Spike Lee, made his induction speech wearing the uniform of his pizza deliveryman character Mookie from his film “Do the Right Thing,” which featured Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power”.

Chuck D accepted the honour, making reference to the fact that some believe the hip-hop genre has no place in the Rock Hall:

“(We) see hip hop take its rightful place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and some people out there are thinking: ‘Well, there goes the musical neighbourhood.” “Let us not forget we all come from the damn blues, all right? Let’s not get it twisted.”

Albert King – inducted by John Mayer

John Mayer inducted the late Albert King, before joining Gary Clark Jr. for a King-inspired guitar jam.

Donna Summer – inducted by Kelly Rowland

Destiny Child’s Kelly Rowland made the induction speech in place of Christina Aguilera, who had to cancel due to sickness. Jennifer Hudson then paid tribute to the late star with rousing renditions of “Bad Girls” and “Last Dance”.

Quincy Jones – inducted by Oprah Winfrey

After an introduction from Oprah Winfrey, Jones welcomed the honour, joking “I didn’t want to get into the Hall of Fame too early, so we waited a while”.

Usher paid tribute to Jones with a performance of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” from the “Off the Wall” album that Jones produced.

Lou Adler – inducted by Cheech and Chong

Comedy duo Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, who were discovered by Adler, gave the induction speech, and Carole King paid tribute to Adler with a performance of “So Far Away” from her classic album “Tapestry,” which Adler produced.

The evening ended with an all-star jam on Cream’s “Crossroads”.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2013 induction ceremony will be broadcast on HBO on May 18.