Metallica, Run-DMC inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Metallica, Run-DMC and Jeff Beck were among the musicians inducted into the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio Saturday night.

Metallica shoved the mosh pit into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Heavy metal’s heaviest hitters, whose menacing, monstrous sound has banged heads around the globe for decades, were inducted into rock’s shrine on Saturday night, capping a star-studded ceremony that felt much more like a concert than an awards show. For the first time, the no-holds-barred show, back in Cleveland following a 12-year holdover in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria ballroom, was open to the public. And nearly 5,000 fans partied in the balconies inside renovated Public Auditorium as 1,200 VIPs dined below at tables costing as much $50,000 each. – From USA Today