The annual induction ceremonies into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame may have been the least star-studded in terms of those who were being enshrined, but the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2000 is arguably the most eclectic group of musicians to be admitted to the hallowed halls of the Cleveland pop museum.

The first act to be honored at the Waldorf-Astoria on March 6 was The Moonglows, the Cleveland-based doo-wop group of the late 1950's which had hits such as "Sincerely" and "The Ten Commandments Of Love." The Moonglows were a terrific vocal group, but there was some grumbling in the press room about why the Moonglows gained admission to the Hall of Fame while other doo-wop groups, such as the Spaniels, the Flamingos, and Fred Parris & The Five Satins, have been left out.

Certainly politics, as is the case quite often, played a role. The Moonglows hailed from Cleveland, and one can be sure that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wanted to enshrine some hometown heroes. Another factor is that the Moonglows' bass singer and main songwriter, Harvey Fuqua, went on to achieve greater fame as a composer for Motown Records. Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, and Junior Walker all had hits with songs written by Fuqua. After the Moonglows' induction, Fuqua conceded that his Motown connection may have tipped the scales in his old vocal group's favor.

With the possible exception of Sly & The Family Stone, no group has ever been able to incorporate the best elements of rock and soul as well as Earth, Wind & Fire did, and certainly no one can quibble with their enshrinement into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Their performance of "Shining Star" and "That's The Way Of The World" at the ceremonies electrified the surprisingly subdued audience. While it was a magical night for EW&F, the joy of the evening was tempered by band leader Maurice White's recent revelation that he has been battling the degenerative neurological disorder known as Parkinson's Disease for the past eight years.

The Lovin' Spoonful were an influence on the Mamas & Papas, and the band's brief but prolific contribution to folk rock was finally recognized by the Hall of Fame. The original four members of the band, composer/lead singer/guitarist John Sebastian, guitarists Steve Boone and Zal Yanovsky, and drummer Joe Butler, had not played together consistently in over 30 years, and it had been well over 20 years since they last reunited for a concert. It unfortunately showed during their performance at the Waldorf.

The Hall of Fame finally got around to honoring the truly unsung heroes of the recording industry: the session musicians who never received the glory of the artists whose names were actually printed on the records. Among those honored were the Motown guitarist James Jamerson; New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer; Lloyd Price; L.A. drummer extraordinaire Hal Blaine; Elvis Presley's old rhythm guitarist, Scotty Moore.

Scotty Moore enjoyed telling some old Elvis stories, but his sunny disposition quickly changed when he was asked about Elvis' later career, when James Burton basically ran the band."I stopped working with Elvis after his 1968 NBC 'comeback' special. He had made a number of broken promises to me, and I just couldn't take it anymore."

The most unlikely inductee of the evening was the late crooner Nat "King" Cole, who was enshrined for being an early influence in rock. Accepting the honor was his daughter Natalie Cole, who has sold millions of records in her own right. Natalie Cole quickly acknowledged that she was shocked to hear that her father was being bestowed with induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. "My dad used to always tell me, 'Mr. Cole will never rock and roll!'" said his oldest daughter with a smile. When pressed about what her father would think of this honor if he were alive, Natalie quipped, "I think that he would be mortified!"

Natalie Cole also took pains to point out that her father did not harbor any hostility towards rock and roll like many of her his contemporaries, which included Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Mitch Miller. "My dad always brought me the latest Beatles records, and we would play them together," Cole reminisced.

The two biggest names to be inducted in the Class of 2000 were Eric Clapton and James Taylor, but the inductee who was most in demand by the media was Arista Records president Clive Davis, who was given the annual non-performer award.

Davis has been in the news recently for numerous reasons. He is largely responsible for reigniting Carlos Santana's career, which resulted in the long-time guitarist's domination of the recent Grammy Awards. Davis has also been portrayed as a victim of age discrimination. Even though he has guided Arista quite profitably throughout the label's 25 year history, the 66 year-old Davis is being pressured by Arista's corporate parent, Bertelsmann Music, to step down as the company's president.

Clive patiently answered all queries from the press. As expected, he did not give a definitive answer regarding his future plans. Davis did admit that Bertelsmann is trying to get him to start his own label within the BMG family. When asked about the problems that Walter Yetnikoff, former head of Columbia Records, endured when he tried to start his own record label a few years ago, Davis conceded that it is extremely difficult to start from scratch."These days, even established record companies have to practically reinvent themselves every year."

When asked about whether he would write a sequel to his 1974 best-seller "Inside The Record Business," Davis chuckled, saying, "You can't write a book and run a record company at the same time. I'm hoping I won't have the time to write a follow-up!"

The only blemishes of the evening were the long, drawn out speeches. Paul Simon looked as if he was about to fall asleep at the podium as he inducted the Moonglows. The worst offender, however, was Melissa Etheridge, who gushingly recited inductee Bonnie Raitt's life story. Even Raitt was flustered at Etheridge's filibuster. Said Raitt, "I didn't even know I lived that long!"

Hopefully, next year everyone will remember that brevity is the soul of wit.