Classic Rock Legend Will Miss Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Citing ‘Stress’

Bad Company’s scheduled reunion at Saturday’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will not occur after all, after Paul Rodgers dropped out due to “stress.”

The singer, 75, took to the band’s Instagram page on Monday to announce that he would not be able to attend the ceremony and perform alongside his band for the good of his health.

“My hope was to be at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritize my health,” Rodgers wrote. “I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else.”

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Rodgers continued that his longtime bandmate Simon Kirke, “along with some outstanding musicians,” would be stepping in for him Saturday, and that they were “guaranteed to rock.”

Rodgers revealed on CBS Mornings in 2023 that he had suffered two major strokes in 2016 and 2019, as well as 11 minor strokes, which left him unable to speak in their aftermath

“I couldn’t do anything to be honest,” Rodgers explained at the time. “I couldn’t speak. That was the very strange thing. You know, I’d prepare something in my mind and I’d say it, but that isn’t what came out, and I’d go, ‘What the heck did I just say?’”

Of his recovery, Rodgers shared, “Each thing was a step forward. Each thing that I did was an achievement … ‘Oh, I can do this. I can sing.’”

Rodgers and Kirke previously revealed their plans to reunite on stage Saturday as the only two living musicians from Bad Company’s original run, as bassist Raymond “Boz” Burrell and guitarist Mick Ralphs died in September 2006 and June 2025, respectively.

Bad Company originally split in 1982, but has since reunited a number of times, most recently for a tour in 2019. The band will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Saturday as the musicians are honored as “one of rock’s first and most successful supergroups, both live and on record.”

“By combining arena-ready blues-rock swagger with Top 40 hits, they distinguished themselves from their peers,” according to the Hall of Fame’s website. “The foursome’s straightforward, no-frills approach inspired rockers to embrace melody over bombast, songs over jams, tight, short solos and unforgettable choruses.”

The website credits Bad Company as influencing bands including Aerosmith, Journey, Def Leppard. Aerosmith’s Joe Perry said of the group, “Bad Company’s stuff sticks to your ribs; you hum along to not just the song but the solos. The band all had one vision and it worked together.”

Other musical performers and presenters scheduled to appear at Saturday’s ceremony include: Beck, Brandi Carlile, David Letterman, Doja Cat, Elton John, Flea, Iggy Pop, J.I.D, Killer Mike, Maxwell, Missy Elliott, Olivia Rodrigo, Questlove, RAYE, Sleepy Brown, Taylor Momsen, Teddy Swims and Twenty One Pilots.