After a long wait awaiting the day of the induction, and EVEN longer period of time before even being an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Yusuf Islam was finally inducted into the Hall of Fame.
As per the tradition with the previous inductees, the award is usually presented by an artist who was influenced one way or another by the inductees’s style of music and lyrical composition. Therefore, it was an honour for Yusuf Islam to have received the award from none other than Art Garfunkel, of Simon & Garfunkel fame. For those who don’t know them, Simon & Garfunkel was a duo of singer-songwriter Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon who have won several Grammy Awards and are one of the Hall of Fame alumni. Hence, the presentation of the award from Art Garfunkel is by itself a testament to the talent of Yusuf Islam.
The legendary Art Garfunkel and the now-legendary Yusuf Islam during the presentation. // Ultimate
In his speech, Art Garfunkel spoke of how he admired Yusuf, and noting on why his songs mattered to this world, and how it not only reflects, but also changes who is Yusuf Islam truly is. A sincere man with his music, while saying “he’s even better than Simon!”.
Upon receiving his award, Yusuf talked about how he was surprised that he would be standing with other Rock-and-Roll inductees, saying that whenever someone mentions rock-and-roll, it is always accompanied by sex and drugs. However, with his very presence, it shows that even rock-and-roll can be clean should the artist chose to.
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During his acceptance speech of the induction.
In addition to the speech, Yusuf Islam performed his famous song “Father & Son”, “Wild World” and “Peace Trains”. Rendering his famous songs on stage, he maintained his harmonious voice, not missing a single line, and sang it like how he used to. And by this fact, it shows that truly this is a man who is worthy to be placed among those in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and setting an example for a clean Rock-and-Roll artist. Or one who sings and performs this genre without the rampant sexual acts nor the drug abuse, but creating songs that can heal and change the world into a much better place. One could say, that Yusuf Islam has shown the world the simplicity of Islam through this Hall of Fame performance. One that is rooted with simplicity and soulfulness.
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[panel title=”Great Performance” description=”Yusuf performing his greatest piece of all time – Father & Son, Wild World and Peace Train // AP”][/panel]
[panel title=”Barclays Centre” description=”This itself shows the magnitude of how big the event is!”][/panel]
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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2014 induction ceremony is to be telecast on HBO on May 31.
– Munsyeed Dot Com
