Induct Dick Wagner into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Detroit area native helped define an era in rock history by playing lead guitar or writing songs for Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Kiss, Lou Reed, The Frost, Peter Gabriel, Meat Loaf, Steve Perry, Etta James, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Air Supply, Hall & Oates, Ringo Starr, Guns & Roses, Tori Amos, Frank Sinatra, and dozens of others.

In 1973, he and fellow guitarist Steve Hunter were recruited by famed Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin for Lou Reed’s touring band. Wagner and Hunter were featured guitarists on Reed’s acclaimed “Berlin” (1973) and joined Reed on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal Tour, as captured on “Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal.”

AEROSMITH -'Train Kept' A Rollin'' was one of the best-known secrets in classic rock history - that Dick was playing on the live solo section along with Steve Hunter in one of the very first featured dueling guitar solos in mainstream rock.

His first appearance on an Alice Cooper album was “School’s Out,” which featured a classic Wagner solo on “My Stars.” He also appeared on “Billion Dollar Babies” and “Muscle of Love” alongside Cooper’s original bandmates. Wagner stepped in as a songwriting partner on “Welcome to My Nightmare,” Cooper’s first release without the original lineup, earning a co-writing credit on such classics as the title track and “Only Women Bleed.”

Subsequent Cooper releases to feature Wagner included “Goes To Hell,” “The Alice Cooper Show,” “Lace and Whiskey,” “From the Inside” “ Zipper Catches Skin,” “DaDa” and “Hey Stoopid.” He also co-wrote a string of Top 20 ballads for Cooper — “I Never Cry,” “You And Me” and “How You Gonna See Me Now.”