ONCE MO WITH FEELING:
ROCK HALL TO INDUCT OSTIN

The ceremony takes place March 10, 2003 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, where AC/DC, The Clash, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Police and the Righteous Brothers will also be inducted. VH1 will broadcast the event Wednesday, March 19.

Under Ostin’s leadership, Warner Bros/Reprise became the most commercially successful record company in history. His legacy was to put the creative needs of the artists ahead of the bottom line, creating a nurturing environment for musicians and executives alike. Among the artists Ostin brought to the label were the Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Frank Sinatra, R.E.M. and Red Hot Chili Peppers, not to mention Tiny Tim. He is currently an executive at DreamWorks Records.

The late Benny Benjamin was one of the most accomplished session drummers in rock, and a member of the Funk Brothers, a group of musicians who served as Motown’s house band and currently the subject of the documentary and album Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Benjamin played drums on recordings by the Temptations, Marvin Gaye and the Four Tops, among others. Benjamin, known for his thunderous tom tom fills and the slap of his snare drum, died in 1969.

Floyd Cramer was a piano-player who helped develop the "Nashville Sound" with a "slip note" fingering style which enabled him to blend one note to the next, carrying the melody. He recorded with Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, the Everly Brothers, Patsy Cline and many others. The 1979 Grammy winner for best country instrumental died in 1997 at the age of 54.

Saxophonist Steve Douglas was a key member of the "Wrecking Crew," a group of session players who worked with producer Phil Spector at L.A.’s Goldstar studios on countless sessions, including Presley, Sam Cooke, the Righteous Brothers, Bob Dylan, Duane Eddy, John Lennon and the Beach Boys, among others. He died in 1993 at the age of 55.