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NEW YORK - The Swedish hit machine ABBA and English progressive rockers Genesis accepted inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday, despite prominent members staying away from the ceremony.
British Invasion harmony kings The Hollies, reggae superstar Jimmy Cliff and raucous rockers Iggy Pop and the Stooges also entered the hall. So did a group of songwriters responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales.
After "Waterloo" started them off winning a European songwriting contest in 1974, ABBA released a string of pop hits such as "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen." Members Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad drew salutes for that work on Monday. Partners Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog weren't there, the absence unexplained.
"These songs have brought us all the way into the great Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," Andersson said, "and I speak for all of us ... we are deeply, deeply honoured."
Lyngstad pointed out her grandson in the audience, noting that while he was a heavy metal musician he still appreciated grandma's music. Also cheering from the audience was actress Meryl Streep, who starred in the recent "Mamma Mia!" movie, which, along with the Broadway show, has helped keep ABBA's music alive since the band's 1982 breakup.
That's final, too: Lyngstad told the audience ABBA would never perform together again.
The Waldorf-Astoria hotel audience got one-fourth of ABBA in performance. Andersson took to the piano as country star Faith Hill sang "The Winner Takes It All."
Genesis had two distinct incarnations, one led by theatrical lead singer Peter Gabriel and the other when drummer Phil Collins took over the microphone. Trey Anastasio, of Phish, paid tribute to both with his own band, which performed "Watcher of the Skies" and "No Reply at All."
Gabriel was missing on Monday. Former bandmate Mike Rutherford said Gabriel wanted to send his apologies.
"He has a very legitimate and genuine excuse," Rutherford said. "He's actually starting a tour."
Anastasio recalled buying Genesis albums as a teenager. He called the band "rebellious, restless and constantly striving for something more."
"Every musical rule and boundary was questioned and broken," he said. "It's impossible to overstate what impact this band and musical philosophy had on me as a young musician. I'm forever in their debt."
Steve Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen's guitarist, honoured The Hollies and the spirit of rock and roll in an eloquent induction speech. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash's "exquisite English harmonies were second, or shared only by the Beatles."
Their British Invasion hits included "Bus Stop" and "Carrie-Anne," both of which the band performed on Monday.
Clarke recalled telling his father he was going to become a professional musician. His father told him that bands only last three or four years, so bank as much money as you can.
"Well, Dad, I'm being inducted into a museum," Clarke said. "How's that for longevity?"
Nash jokingly thanked his colleagues for having "the audacity, the gall" to have three No. 1 hits after he left the band in 1968. Those 1970s standards were "The Air That I Breathe," "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" and "Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress)."
Jamaica's Cliff was among the first to export reggae. His best-known songs include "You Can Get It if You Really Want," "The Harder They Come" and "Many Rivers to Cross," and he energetically performed each of them on Monday.
Haiti's Wyclef Jean recalled loving Cliff's songs so much he translated some of them into hymns so his father would allow them to be sung in church. One of his biggest thrills came when, after a recording session, Cliff accepted his invitation to stay over in his New Jersey apartment.
"When we saw Jimmy Cliff, we saw ourselves," Jean said. "Meaning, coming from Haiti and the Caribbean, you have to see someone do it for you to be inspired to think you could do it. When I saw Jimmy Cliff, I could see my face."
The Michigan-based Stooges never sold many records. But the brutal force of their 1973 album "Raw Power" influenced the punk movement to come, and the rubber-limbed Pop was an electric frontman.
Pop delivered middle-finger salutes to his audience and, at the black-tie affair, had his shirt off even before performing "Search and Destroy." He prowled through the audience for "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and the Stooges were joined onstage by inductor Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.
"Roll over Woodstock," Pop said. "We won!"
For all their toughness, the Stooges seemed genuinely touched by the honour. Scott Asheton paid tribute to his brother and bandmate Ron Asheton, who died last year. Pop choked back tears in thanking his colleagues for getting back together and working.
"Here we are in the belly of the beast - a lot of power and money in this room," he said. "It's a big industry. If it makes the right decisions, it will stay an industry. Music is life, and life is not a business."
Songwriter Carole King inducted old colleagues from an era (the 1950s and early 1960s) when performers largely left songwriting to others. They included Barry Mann&Cynthia Weil ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," "On Broadway"), Ellie Greenwich&Jeff Barry ("Leader of the Pack," "Be My Baby"), Otis Blackwell ("All Shook Up," "Don't Be Cruel"), Mort Shuman ("Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment" with Doc Pomus) and Jesse Stone ("Sh-Boom," "Money Honey").
How's this for tough luck: Barry missed his big moment when his plane was cancelled because of bad weather.
Another non-performing inductee was David Geffen. Before he spread his influence to other parts of the entertainment business, Geffen started the Asylum and Geffen record labels.
The ceremony was telecast live on the Fuse music network.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is in Cleveland.
