Rudolf Schenker, Klaus Meine, Matthias Jabs, James Kottak and Pawel Maciwoda of the SCORPIONS will be inducted into Hollywood’s RockWalk on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at noon. The SCORPIONS — who have sold over 100 million records worldwide — will be honored by fans with a special ceremony at Guitar Center in Hollywood.
This marks a very special occasion for the SCORPIONS: with the March 23 release of their new album, “Sting in the Tail” (via Universal Music Enterprises) and a three-year, five-continent mammoth tour, one of the most successful rock bands in the world will be ending their career. It will be the most adventurous if not greatest project of the band: hundreds of shows, hundreds of thousands of fans, countless miles on a plane and tour bus.
It has been 35 years since the original formation of the legendary German hard rock band SCORPIONS drove their rickety red VW bus from one small pub to another, from one back yard to another, in their home state of Lower-Saxony to unpack their equipment and rock on. Five years earlier, in the little town of Sarstedt, Rudolf Schenker had given the band its name. From the very beginning the band showed signs for a promising career.
From an Echo for “Life Achievement” (2009) and “Best National Band” (1994) to the World Music Award (1994), there aren’t many noteworthy awards the SCORPIONS have not received. The accomplishments throughout their career have built a bridge between yesterday and tomorrow: they drew more than 150,000 spectators between Manaus and Rio on the last big South America tour, sold-out stadiums in Greece last summer, jam-packed venues in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mumbai and performed at Monsters Of Rock.
Hollywood’s RockWalk is the only sidewalk gallery dedicated to honoring those artists who have made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the growth and evolution of rock and roll, blues and R&B. The SCORPIONS’ handprints will reside alongside the handprints, signatures, and faces of other equally accomplished musicians and innovators such as Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, Brian Wilson, Stevie Wonder, John Lee Hooker and EARTH WIND & FIRE, among numerous others.