Harry Styles rose to the occasion witha heartfelt speechinductingStevie Nicks to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the Phoenix native becamethe first female performer to be inducted twice – with Fleetwood Mac in 1998 and now as a solo performer.
"With Stevie, you’re not celebrating music from long ago through the mists of time," he said, as reported by Rolling StoneandPitchfork. "She was standing on stage headlining a place doing her best work just three nights ago. She is forever current. She is forever Stevie."
Then he asked, "But what exactly does that mean?" and proceeded to answer.
"In my family we listened at home, we listened in the car, we listened wherever we could. 'Dreams'was the first song I knew all the words to, before I really knew what all the words meant. I thought it was a song about the weather. But I knew it was a beautiful song about the weather. I always knew the words and I love them all."
After reciting the bit about how “thunder only happens when it’s raining," Styles continued singing Nicks' praises.
"She’s so wise and serene," he said. "She sees all the romance and the drama in the world and she celebrates it. She will stand on stage introducing a song, telling you how she wrote them — honestly — like you’re the only other person in the world. You’re more than a fan. You are a friend. And the words say in so many ways: I understand you and you are not alone. And that is true Stevie."
After running through her early history through Mick Fleetwood's invitation, extended to Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, on New Year's Eve 1974, to join the fold, he praised her writing.
MORE:Nicks joins these 22 men as a two-time Rock and Rock Hall of Fame inductee
"She began creating stories that flowed from her heart to her pen, which ended up in our souls, with characters we’d always remember," he said, "Classic songs like 'Silver Springs,''Rhiannon,''Gypsy'and 'Sara.'In the 1980s, she released 'Bella Donna' — as powerful as the supergroup she was still in. With 'Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,'she and Tom Petty took things to another level."
Styles concluded his speech with – "She is more than a role model — she's abeacon to all of us. Whenever you hear her voice, life gets a little bit better. When she sings, the world is hers, and it is yours. She is everything you’ve ever wanted in a lady, in a lover, in a friend. Stephanie Nicks, I love you. We all do. And that is true, Stevie. Ladies and gentlemen, It has been an honor to be here with you all tonight, please join me in welcoming to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,Stevie Nicks."
Prior to being inducted, Nicks kicked off the ceremony with a four-song set that opened with "Stand Back" before bringing the Eagles' Don Henley onstage to revisit their duet on "Leather and Lace." Then, Styles came out to join her on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" and she ended the set the way you knew it had to end, with "Edge of Seventeen."
MORE:Stevie Nicks on Phoenix: 'I'm so sorry I don't live here anymore'
In accepting the honor, Nicks spoke of the significance of being the first female to be twice-inducted.
"What I am doing is opening up the door," she said. "The times are different, and it's gonna be hard but I know someone will be able to do it, and I'll give enough interviews to tell you what to do."
Not everybody got why Styles had been selected for this honor, but he definitely rose to the challenge and it did seem a perfectly natural choice if you knew the backstory.
Styles is a fan who invited Nicks on stage at one of his performances two years ago at iconic Hollywood nightclub the Troubadour to join him on Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," Styles' own "Two Ghosts" and"Leather and Lace."
A few months later, he covered Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" for Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1.
Then in a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Styles' name came up and the two-time Hall of Famer had nothing but praise for the One Direction singer.
"He’s Mick (Fleetwood)’s and my love child," she said. "When Harry came into our lives, I said, “Oh my God, this is the son I never had.” So I adopted him. I love Harry, and I’m so happy Harry made a rock and roll record — he could have made a pop record and that would have been the easy way for him. But I guess he decided he wanted to be born in 1948, too — he made a record that was more like 1975."
This year's other presenters included Janelle Monae (Janet Jackson), Brian May of Queen (Def Leppard), David Byrne of Talking Heads (Radiohead), Susanna Hoffs of the Bangles (the Zombies), John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran (Roxy Music) andTrent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails (the Cure).
Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.
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