“I Had to Scream.” — Hall of Fame Explodes as Angus Young and Steven Tyler Shock Crowd With Wild ‘You Shook Me All Night Long’ Duet No One Saw Coming. “I had to scream.” When Steven Tyler inducted AC/DC into the Hall of Fame, he couldn’t stay behind the podium. He rushed the stage to join Angus Young for a wild, high-voltage duet that turned a black-tie gala into a rock riot. Experience the most electric crossover in music history.

The Waldorf-Astoria “Riot”: How Angus Young and Steven Tyler “Incinerated” the Hall of Fame Gala

The Waldorf-Astoria in New York City is a “fortress” of black-tie decorum, a venue “curated” for polite applause and prestigious speeches. But on March 10, 2003, the 18th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony “succumbed” to a high-voltage invasion that no amount of industry polish could “contain.” AC/DC was finally being “consecrated” as rock royalty, but they didn’t arrive to “receive” an honor; they arrived to “demolish” the room.

When Steven Tyler—the “Demon of Screamin’” himself—”abandoned” his post as the inductor to “hijack” the stage, the evening “devolved” from a formal ceremony into the wildest “collision” in the Hall’s history.

The Architecture of a Primal “Surge”

The night was “anchored” by a debt of honor. Aerosmith had “shepherded” the Australian titans during their first treacherous “assault” on the U.S. in the seventies, and Tyler’s induction speech reflected that “visceral” bond. He “described” their sound as a “thunder” that provides the “second most-powerful surge” a human body can “endure.”

But words were “insufficient” for the moment. As the first “serrated” riff of You Shook Me All Night Long “arrested” the audience, Tyler “refused” to stay in the wings. He “rushed” the microphone, “matching” Brian Johnson’s “gravelly” roar with a series of trademark screams that “pierced” the ballroom’s acoustic “sanctity.”

The “Schoolboy” and the “Demon”: A visual “frenzy” featuring Angus Young’s “manic” duck-walk “intersecting” with Tyler’s “flamboyant” stage presence.

The “Blistering” Solo: A moment where Angus “tore” through the air with a guitar performance that “refused” to acknowledge the room’s “stiff” atmosphere.

The Vocal “Graft”: A rare “triple-threat” of rock power that “integrated” Tyler’s high-pitched wails into the “DNA” of an AC/DC classic.

The Night the “Thunder” “Paralyzed” New York

The impact was “instantaneous” and “absolute.” The audience—a “collection” of industry executives and fellow legends—was “left breathless” as the performance “stripped” away the ceremony’s “gala” veneer. AC/DC wasn’t just “accepting” a trophy; they were “reminding” the world why they “own” the third best-selling album of all time.

The “Back in Black” legacy “saturated” the room. While other honorees like The Police and The Clash “delivered” memorable sets, it was the “unscripted” chaos of Tyler and Young that “colonized” the highlights of the night.

“They’re the reason I want to grab the mic and scream.” — The “unfiltered” manifesto of Steven Tyler as he “surrendered” to the power of his idols.

The Legacy of the “Duck-Walk” Coronation

This performance was more than a “cameo”; it was a “full-circle” celebration of rock’s “gritty” roots. It “honored” the memory of the late Bon Scott while “solidifying” the band’s “indestructible” modern era. Malcolm Young would later “confess” that Tyler was the only choice to “induct” them, a “testament” to a friendship “forged” in the “trenches” of seventies tour buses.

Today, the footage of that night is “venerated” as one of the Hall’s most-viewed archival “explosions.” It proved that “stadium-scale” energy cannot be “tamed” by a tuxedo or a “prestigious” ballroom. By “tearing” the stage apart, Angus Young and Steven Tyler “authored” the definitive guide on how to “accept” an honor: you don’t “thank” the history books; you “rewrite” them with a “scream” that the world never “stops” watching.