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Tom Waits and Neil Young
Tom Waits for no man ... Singer performs with Neil Young at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Photograph: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
Tom Waits for no man ... Singer performs with Neil Young at Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Photograph: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Tom Waits inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This article is more than 13 years old
Singer with 'no hits' joins all-star cast including Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond and Dr John

Tom Waits was inducted by Neil Young into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York on Monday night. Accepting his award at the ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, the 61-year old Waits said: "They say I have no hits and I'm difficult to work with – and they say it like this is a bad thing." Contemplating the nature of his art, he added "songs are just very interesting things to be doing with the air" and recalled how, at age 15, he had snuck in to see a Lightnin' Hopkins show by putting "Wite-Out in my hair and drawing on a moustache".

Waits also compared his induction to receiving the key to the city of El Paso: "They told me there was only one but I found out there were a whole bunch of them, and they didn't open anything. So I hope there are some fringe benefits to this baby."

Seven others artists were similarly honoured, including Neil Diamond and – from the opposite end of the musical spectrum – Alice Cooper. After peforming School's Out, his 1972 classic, Cooper thanked the crowd with a live snake writhing around his neck. Nonetheless, he said: "I don't think you can shock an audience any more."

The Crystals' singer Darlene Love thanked convicted record producer Phil Spector, who was behind her biggest hits, while Leon Russell was inducted by his recent collaborator Elton John. Also honoured were Dr John – aka the Night Tripper – and record executives Jac Holzman and Art Rupe.

Introducing Waits, Neil Young said the singer is "undescribable, and I'm here to describe him". The two later performed together.

The first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 included James Brown, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.

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