COLUMBUS, Ohio — It’s called the “house that rock built” and as the newest class of honorees prepares to be officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Saturday night, a 2014 inductee is on-hand to help welcome them “home.”

Vini Lopez said the group that would become the E Street Band really started rocking and rolling after adding singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen to the team.

“I asked him to be in my band, you know,” Lopez said. “Way back when. And he wrote songs, so we like that.”

As the original drummer for the legendary group, Lopez is part of the 2014 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, inducted by "the Boss" Springsteen.

“I don’t feel like a different person because I’m always me, but when I got this (Rock Hall member) jacket on, I know I have a family and I’m in a home,” he said. “And it’s good.”

He’s excited to be back in the birthplace of rock and roll for this year’s induction ceremony. He said it’s going to be one to remember.

“I can’t wait to see some of the stuff because all this is, like Kool and the Gang, come on,” Lopez said. “We used to do all those songs. That’s the way it is, you know?”

Music woven into the fabric of his life.

“Foreigner and those guys,” he said. “I grew up with them. Well, they grew up with us too.”

Icons influencing icons and generations of musicians around the world.

“Everybody thinks the Asbury Park Sound is whatever Southside Johnny with the horns and all that,” he said. “Asbury Park sound came from all over the world, came from England. It came from the West Coast, came from California.”

Along the way, earning a place to call home in Cleveland.

“I hope they’re as honored as I am to be a member of this here Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” Lopez said.

These days, Lopez said he’s working on a book and now keeps the beat for a group called The Wonderful Winos, known to play gigs on stage at the Rock Hall in Cleveland.

The 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Saturday night. The event will be streamed live on Disney+ beginning at 7 p.m.