On in Cleveland: Women Who Rock benefit concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Darlene Love, Mavis Staples and Ronnie Spector perform "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" on stage with Cyndi Lauper (center-right) at the Rock Hall's It's Only Rock and Roll Spring Benefit Concert on May 14, 2011.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer:


It was the ultimate ladies' night when Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Wanda Jackson, Mavis Staples and Darlene Love headlined the Rock Hall's annual spring benefit concert.

The female-focused gala Saturday evening at Cleveland's Public Auditorium coincided with the opening of "Women Who Rock," a major new exhibition at the Rock Hall. It's on view through Feb. 26, 2012.

Jackson got the party started with a feisty set, fittingly capped with her hip-shaking hit "Let's Have a Party." The rockabilly pioneer was still a teenager when she went on tour with Elvis Presley in 1955.

Soul survivor Staples rose to fame with the Staple Singers. The family group (led by her father, the late Roebuck "Pops" Staples) specialized in gospel music before conquering the pop charts in the 1970s.

Staples brought down the house with a sanctified rendition of the Band's "The Weight." She traded fiery lines on the latter number with Cyndi Lauper.

"Cyndi, you rock, baby!" Staples said.

"You taught me how!" Lauper told her.

Staples also belted out a classic-sounding new tune, "Wrote a Song for Everyone," and the uplifting "I'll Take You There."

With gusto, pop-rock powerhouse Love revisited "He's a Rebel" and other oldies from the 1960s, when she was a key vocalist in producer Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound" hit factory.

Lauper closed the show with a spirited parade of 1980s flashbacks. She accompanied herself on dulcimer for a solo rendition of "True Colors" and brought out an all-star chorus of Love, Staples and surprise guest Ronnie Spector for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

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