The 24th annual induction ceremony of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was held on 4 April, 2009, with inductees including guitarist Jeff Beck, R&B vocal group Little Anthony & the Imperials, heavy metal legends Metallica, hip-hop pioneers Run-D.M.C., soul/gospel singer-songwriter-guitarist Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, and instrumentalists/sidemen Bill Black, DJ Fontana and Spooner Oldham. The show was broadcast live on Fuse and www.fuse.tv.
Audio-Technica's Artist Elite 5000 Series UHF Wireless System was used with the AEW-T5400 handheld microphone/transmitter for frontline vocals on performances by Little Anthony, Wanda Jackson and Bobby Womack. Metallica used A-T AE5400 Cardioid Condenser Microphones for their vocals. A combination of wireless AEW-T5400s and wired AE5400s was used for vocals in the show's finale, which featured Metallica and Jeff Beck, along with Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, in an all-star jam of the Yardbirds' take on the blues classic Train Kept A-Rollin.
The technical staff for the induction ceremony was made up of professional audio industry veterans. Mitch Maketansky returned as audio coordinator this year, organising and assigning all the inputs and microphones for the event. Frenchtown, New Jersey-based remote recording specialists Music Mix Mobile, the company responsible for both recording the programme and mixing the live feed for broadcast, used its M3 remote truck with Jay Vicari mixing the event's audio onsite.
(Jim Evans)
