Bobby Womack Reacts to Hall of Fame News: "I Wish I Could Call Sam Cooke"

Bobby Womack says he is extremely happy to learn he'll be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the 2009 class (Metallica, Jeff Beck, Run-DMC and Little Anthony and the Imperials). "My very first thought was — I wish I could call Sam Cooke and share this moment with him," Womack said in a statement. "This is just about as exciting to me as being able to see Barack Obama become the first black President of the United States of America! It proves that, if you're blessed to be able to wait on what's important to you, a lot of things will change in life."

Making the honor even more special to Womack is that this year's ceremony will take place in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. "Being able to work, perform and make people happy is where it's at. I haven't been home in almost 30 years, so having this happen in my hometown is really icing on the cake," Womack said. "I'm looking forward to going home."

The April 4th induction ceremony will be the Hall's first in its hometown since 1997, and will feature Run-DMC's first performance since the death of Jam Master Jay seven years ago. For a full report on the Rock Hall inductees, click here:

• Metallica, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2009

• Photos: The Rock Hall's Class of 2009

Plus, visit Rolling Stone's Rock Hall home:

• Rolling Stone's Essential Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Coverage

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Song Stories

“Piano Man”

Billy Joel | 1973

Billy Joel’s first hit, “Piano Man,” was – ironically – an autobiographical lament about how his first album wasn’t a hit. When Cold Spring Harbor didn’t take off, Joel briefly became a lounge pianist in Los Angeles, and this song, about that experience, expressed his frustrations and fears at the time: “And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar/And say, ‘Man, what are you doing here?’” “It was all right,” Joel said later, about the gig. “I got free drinks and union scale, which was the first steady money I’d made in a long time.”

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