Hall of Fame inductee Joan Jett and the Blackhearts got Sunday's (Singapore time) induction ceremonies off to a blistering start - with a little help from Miley Cyrus, Dave Grohl and Tommy James - with songs including Cherry bomb and Crimson and Clover.
Paul McCartney then brought the house down, and the five-hour show to a rousing close, by inducting - and performing with - fellow Beatle Ringo Starr with a little help from many of their friends.
It was all part of a five-hour event at Cleveland's vintage Public Hall, on the doorstep of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum itself, where the inductees joined 304 groups and solo artistes that have been inducted in an annual spring rite that began in 1985.
HBO will air the entire ceremony beginning on May 30.
In addition to Jett, famous for I Love Rock and Roll, and Ringo, the "class of 2015" includes the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble, Green Day, the '5' Royales, Bill Withers and Lou Reed.
Each was inducted by fellow superstars and legends that spanned several generations. In the audience were other members of rock royalty such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Yoko Ono, the wife of the late John Lennon, who together with Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner broke ground for the Rock Hall here itself in 1995.
One of those representing the newest generation of musicians was Cyrus, 22, who did not twerk but did raise eyebrows with some unquotable comments.
On a more printable note, Cyrus told Jett: "There isn't one other person on this planet that has been an inspiration to me like you have."
A tearful Jett responded, after acepting her trophy, by saying of Cyrus: "It's important to see another woman who does things her way, and she does."
Late blues guitar maestro Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band, Double Trouble, were inducted by John Mayer, another current star.
Mayer called Vaughan "the ultimate guitar hero" before launching into a rip-roaring blues tribute with the guitarist's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, of the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
Pop punk trio Green Day became one of the first of the younger generaton to be inducted into the hall, with rock band Fall Out Boy doing the honours.
Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt said he was humbed, being inducted into a Hall of Fame that includes the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Who. "My record collection is sitting in this room," he quipped.
Dirnt and fellow Green Day members Billie Joe Armstrong and Tre Cool then shattered the calm with a three song set that started with American Idiot, from their best-selling album of that name.
Rock icon Patti Smith next took to the stage to induct Lou Reed, noting that when the latter died on Oct 27, 2013, New York city seemed "transformed".
"People were crying on the streets," she said of Reed, whose career was launched by artist Andy Warhol as a member of the Velvet Underground. "I could hear Lou's name coming from every cafe. Everyone was playing his music."
Reed's wife, experimental performance artist Laurie Anderson, accepted the induction on his behalf poetically.
"The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is the place where the names of great musicians become completely magic words - Buddy Holly, Little Richard, The Coasters," she said. "And now, Lou Reed is one of those magic words."
Recent Grammy winner Beck then played one of Reed's most poignant songs, Satellite of Love, and members of the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs followed with Vicious.
Soul singer Bill Withers lightened up the proceedings by joking: "This has got to be the largest AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meeting in the western hemisphere" - a reference to rock stars' notoriety for drinking and drug-taking.
Withers was inducted to the hall by Stevie Wonder, who led a tribute together with John Legend by performing three of Withers' hits: Lean On Me, Ain't No Sunshine and Use Me.
The night's loudest cheers, however, were reserved for the Beatles.
Paul McCartney, who had performed on the same stage on their first tour of the United States in 1964, inducted Ringo - the last of the foursome to be inducted into the Rock Hall for their solo work.
For Ringo that included hit songs such as Photograph and It Don't Come Easy.
"As all the other drummers say, he just is something so special. When he's playing behind you, you see these other bands, they're looking around at the drummer, like, is he going to speed up, is he going to slow down? You don't have to look with Ringo."
In his acceptance speech, Ringo joked: "I want to thank Paul for all the great things you told us…some of them are true."
Then the night ended on a perfect note - another Bucket List item checked off for the many of the grey-haired among the capacity crowd of 10,000.
McCartney joined Ringo on stage to sing With a Little Help From My Friends, before all the other stars present crowded the stage to belt out another early Beatles song that featured Ringo vocals: I Wanna Be Your Man.