Judas Priest Stole The Show At The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

7 November 2022 | 10:44 am | Mary Varvaris
Originally Appeared In

Probably the coolest group on stage... ever?

(Pic by Travis Shin)

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As we wrote earlier today, Duran Duran were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this weekend. 

Alongside them in the Performer category were Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Eurythmics, Eminem, Carly Simon, Dolly Parton, and Lionel Richie. Heavy metallers Judas Priest were inducted under the Musical Excellence Award with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. 

The ceremony was filled with remarkable moments, from Richie and Dave Grohl performing the Commodores classic, Easy

Eminem, inducted by his longtime collaborator Dr. Dre, played My Name Is and brought out Aerosmith's Steven Tyler for Sing For The Moment and Ed Sheeran to reprise Dido's chorus on Stan

While Carly Simon did not attend the event while grieving the loss of her two sisters a day apart last month, Sara Bareilles inducted her into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame before performing Nobody Does It Better and was accompanied by Olivia Rodrigo for You're So Vain.

The best moments, however, belonged to Judas Priest. 

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While Dolly Parton initially insisted that she was not "rock worthy" upon her nomination, she certainly seemed like a rockstar on stage. 

Performing Jolene, Parton was joined by an all-rocking cast of guitarist Zac Brown, country singer Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, P!nk, Annie Lennox, Pat Benatar, Duran Duran singer Simon Le Bon, and the Metal God himself, Rob Halford. Arm in arm with Parton, Halford sang the all-time classic hit, proving that Dolly and Rob are more metal than most straightforward rockers.

Judas Priest also performed at the ceremony after getting inducted by Alice Cooper. Celebrating 50 years of metal, original guitarist K.K. Downing joined the iconic band for the first time since he left the band in 2011. Early drummer Les Binks also took the stage. 

A mark of class and longevity, Priest performed You Got Another Thing Comin', Breakin' The Law, and Livin' After Midnight. The full lineup of the band on stage was Halford, Downing, Binks, guitarist Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. 

Are Judas Priest the best heavy metal band of all time? You can certainly make the argument that they are.

Check out the Judas Priest and Jolene performances at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame below.