Miles Davis	Lynyrd Skynyrd

Also honored was A&M Records co-founder and BMI songwriter Jerry Moss, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the non-performer category.

Formed in New York City, Blondie is one of the most successful rock and roll bands to emerge from the late 70s new wave scene. Fronted by Debbie Harry, Blondie's eclectic hit-making sound flirted with salsa, funk, disco, reggae and rap. Their 1979 breakthrough album, Parallel Lines, featured the #1 hit "Heart of Glass."

Blondie

Miles Davis was one of the 20th century's most creative artists, changing the sound of popular music many times in his six decade career. His musical experimentation beginning in the late 60s created a fusion of jazz with rock and roll, soul, funk and hip-hop. Davis died in 1991.

Lynyrd Skynyrd was one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed Southern rock groups of the 1970s. Their distinctive triple-lead guitar sound turned "Freebird" and "Sweet Home Alabama" into American anthems and staples of FM radio.

Jerry Moss co-founded A&M Records in Los Angeles in 1962. Starting with a few hundred dollars in pooled resources, he helped build one of the most successful independent records labels in the world. Artists that were signed to A&M include Procol Harum, Supertramp, Peter Frampton, Free, the Police, Joe Jackson, the Neville Brothers, Captain Beefheart, John Haitt, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Cat Stevens.

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria considered includes the influence and significance of the artist's contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll. Past inductees include Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Cream, Bruce Springsteen and The Rolling Stones, among many others. All inductees are represented in the permanent exhibit at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, which contains the largest collection of rock and roll artifacts chronicling the history of popular music.

His songwriting legacy includes such classics as "Peace Train" (recorded by 10,000 Maniacs, Dolly Parton and Don Williams), "Wild World" (cut by Jimmy Cliff and Maxi Priest) and "The First Cut is the Deepest" (covered by Rod Stewart and, recently, Sheryl Crow). The list of others who have performed songs written by Stevens is as diverse as the modern music scene itself: Pearl Jam, Wayne Newton, Sarah McLachlan, Johnny Cash, Patti LaBelle, The Mavericks, Gilberto Gil, New Order, Floyd Cramer, Yo La Tengo and Elton John, to name but a few. And his catalog includes such other classics as "Moon Shadow," "Where Do The Children Play," "Morning Has Broken" and "Sad Lisa."

It's all an amazing accomplishment for a singer, writer and guitarist who was The Offspring of a Greek father (who ran a London restaurant) and Swedish mother. Raised and educated in Sweden, where his studies included classical music, Stevens landed in England during his late teens. Songs from his debut album, Matthew and Son , made him a U.K. pop star while a hit version of "There Goes My Baby" by The Tremeloes began his decades-long string of high profile covers.

After a bout with tuberculosis in 1969, Stevens reemerged as a unique folk-rock troubadour whose gentle style nonetheless conveyed songs of stunning depth, intensity and resonance. Albums like Mona Bone Jakon , Tea for The Tillerman , Teaser and The Firecat and others made him a staple on American pop and album radio as well as an international star. A longtime spiritual bent led him to convert to Islam in 1979 and not long after change his name and leave the music business. A decade later he made headlines with a statement supporting Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa (Islamic death sentence) against novelist Salman Rushdie that Stevens later claimed to have been misinterpreted. The controversial declaration caused many U.S. radio stations to pull the music of Cat Stevens from their playlists. But the lasting strength of his creations and heart found within them has overcome that situation.

Last year Stevens returned briefly to the pop music scene to re-record "Peace Train" for an album to benefit the children of Iraq that also included contributions from Paul McCartney, David Bowie, George Michael and other British pop stars. “'Peace Train' is a song I wrote, the message of which continues to breeze thunderously through the hearts of millions of human beings," says Stevens, "and there is a powerful need for people to feel that gust of hope rise up again."

Though still young, Branch has been enraptured by music for a long time. “For as long as I can remember, and from what my family recalls, I was always singing,” she explains. In fact, her musical development may have prenatal. “When I asked my mom what music she listened to while she was pregnant with me, she told me that she sang along with the radio in the car to The Beatles a lot. Perhaps that’s why The Beatles are my favorite band. Who knows?”

Branch began years of vocal lessons, and for her 14th birthday got her first guitar. “A day later, I wrote my first song,” she recalls. “I remember telling my parents that I had written a song. They didn’t really believe me.”

Her relationship to music is a primal one. “Music has always been in me,” Branch asserts. “When I sing, I have a sense of peace, I feel like my brain turns off, and I become the core person of who I am -- the essence of me. I feel connected to whatever is out there. It’s almost like I leave my body and get to watch.”

By her late teens, she had gotten a manager, recorded an album-length demo to sell at shows and get the music industry’s attention, and landed some concert dates opening for Hanson. Maverick Records executive Danny Strick caught Branch in Los Angeles on that tour, and she was soon after signed to Madonna’s record label. And at age 17, she recorded and released her first album.

“Everywhere,” Michelle’s first single, rose to number 5 on the pop charts, followed by “All You Wanted” and “Goodbye To You,” establishing Branch as a certified star. Her chart success has translated into international tours, multiple guest spots on “The Tonight Show,” an appearance in the movie The Hot Chick, and a collaboration with Carlos Santana on the single “Game of Love.” She has recently been finishing up her second album, which features such guests as Sheryl Crow and Dave Navarro of Jane’s Addiction.

The New Kids may have been Branch’s initial inspiration, but her influences are far deeper. Her favorite acts include The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens and Lisa Loeb, perhaps one reason her music has such broad appeal. “I have kids and their parents coming to my show,” observes Branch. “It’s really cool because my lyrics appeal more to the older people and the actual sound of the music appeals to younger people.”

Branch says that her musical creations come from a mystical place, including her dreams. “I have dreams when I write and entire song, chords and everything. I wake up and hope I can remember the dream-song, and find hat I’ve already written it all down, and I just pick up the guitar and play it,” she says.

For all her success, Branch finds that the biggest reward she has enjoyed has been the effect her music has on listeners. “I’ve received hundreds of e-mails with wonderful comments like, ‘when I’m having a bad day I listen to your songs and I feel better.’ That, to me, is the best reward.”

She would also like her music to prompt others to create, just as the music she loves did with her. “I hope I can inspire people my age to play music,” Michelle says, “There are so many “put together” musical acts today. Younger girls write and tell me, ‘They all dance and sing and look so perfect, and it’s hard to watch them. Then I heard your music and now I’m writing songs.’ I hope that continues. I want to be able to speak the truth and make a difference.]]> 2003-01-14T17:00:00-05:00