The first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was held in 1986.
The inaugural ceremony took place in New York City, before the museum building existed in Cleveland. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation had been established in 1983, but the organization’s permanent home and museum were still being planned when the first inductees were honored.
The inaugural class included major early rock figures such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the Everly Brothers. Non-performers and early influences were also recognized, including Sam Phillips, Alan Freed, and John Hammond.
The ceremony is sometimes confused with the museum’s opening, which occurred in 1995, or with the year Cleveland was chosen as the permanent location. Those events happened later. The first induction ceremony itself belongs to 1986, making that year the starting point for the Hall’s annual recognition tradition.