While I’m jumping between topics, its time to go to one of my favorites for debate, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Every year, a slate of 15-16 nominees is composed by a team of perhaps 20 or 25 rock experts, ranging from critics to journalists to record industry executives to musicians. It’s a varied lot making these calls, ranging from conformo-smashers like Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello to critic emeritus Dave Marsh, to Bill Adler to Steve Van Zandt of the E-Street Band, and a man I have a great deal of respect for, Questlove of The Roots. From there, the ballot will be sent to an even wider swath of ‘music experts’, including all previous inductees of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The committee won’t meet until August or September, their decisions won’t be made public until October, and the 5-7 (probably six) inductees won’t be named until the holiday season draws to a close.
Nevertheless, its fun to speculate what the ballot will look like, and to help us, there’s a few trends to be noted. Questlove and Morello, two of the newest members, have succeeded in giving the Rock Hall a more populist feel. Questlove openly wore a Hall & Oates t-shirt to the meeting last year, and lo and behold, they got on the ballot and made it into the hall, after over 20 years of being eligible. This means that the days of the committee relentlessly nominating “critics’ pets” like Laura Nyro and Solomon Burke until they got in may be drawing to a close. In addition to Hall & Oates, a number of artists with a broad popular following or large fan base, but a toxic reputation among critics, have gotten in: KISS, Rush, and even Cat Stevens fall into this category. Nominations in the last two years of Deep Purple, Yes, Kraftwerk, and others are also good signs that the committee is thinking in the right direction.
The other thing to keep in mind is that the committee’s definition of “rock and roll” is probably more ecumenical than yours. If “rock and roll” to you means a bunch of white guys writing their own songs in the 1970s with crunching guitars and screeching solos, you are going to be disappointed. You won’t see a ballot with 16 names like Boston, the Steve Miller Band, Electric Light Orchestra, Grand Funk Railroad, Styx, Journey, and so on. So expect to see lots of genres represented: progressive rock, singer-songwriter, glam, soul, hip-hop, disco, alternative, indie, and rap artists are all fair game, its not just “classic rock.”
To recap, the 2014 ballot released in Oct. 2013 was unbelievably strong and encouraging. Its sixteen nominees were (with the inductees in bold): Cat Stevens, Chic, Deep Purple, Hall & Oates, KISS, Linda Ronstadt, Link Wray, L L Cool J, The Meters, Nirvana, NWA, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Peter Gabriel, The Replacements, Yes, and The Zombies. Some of these guys will certainly get another nomination, and some are already multiple nominees. Of those who didn’t get in last year, Deep Purple and NWA have been nominated twice, Cool J, Paul Butterfield and the Meters have been nominated thrice, and Chic beats all comers with 8 nominations, none of them successful so far.
Using history as our guide, I predict, at this early hour, these 16 nominees:
1. NWA: The originators of gangsta rap have a ‘Straight Outta Compton’ movie coming up, and remain in the public eye. Questlove and others have all but declared their intent to get them in this coming year. In the same way that induction for Ronstadt was cleared by no other female artists on the ballot last year, don’t expect the committee to water down their chances by nominating LL Cool J, Eric B. & Rakim, or any other artists primarily known for rap. (I have, however, included a pioneering hip-hop artist at #10.)
2. Lou Reed: He died just a hair too late for consideration in the 2014 class. I hate Velvet Underground and their alumni, but most of the people who make these decisions fawn over them. Lou will be on the ballot again, after a few years’ absence.
3. Deep Purple: I don’t like them that much either, but there’s no denying how important they were to the unfolding of heavy metal. They should have gotten in last year, and if they get in, other heavy metal acts like Alice in Chains and Judas Priest will follow.
4. Yes: I have a completely unprovable theory that Yes got voted in last year, realized they had a schedule conflict with the ceremony because of the progressive rock cruise they committed to, and it was quietly agreed to push their induction back a year. Either way, now that they’ve been on the ballot, they’ll be back. And hopefully, a Yes induction will pave the way for other progressive rockers like Jethro Tull, The Moody Blues, etc.
5. Green Day: The most popular pop-punk band ever? Yes, please! They seem poised to follow Nirvana as a rare first-year-eligible induction.
6. Nine Inch Nails: Believe it or not, NIN is becoming eligible for the first time, as 25 years have passed since Trent Reznor’s first release. Less likely to get in, but almost as likely to get a nomination.
7. Carole King: Every year for the last 4 or 5 years, a classic singer-songwriter has gotten in: Cat, Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, Tom Waits. Isn’t she the next one in the singer-songwriter pecking order? Her induction as a non-performer/songwriter several years ago doesn’t do justice to Tapestry, maybe one of the ten most culturally significant albums of the 70s, and her long, successful touring history.
8. Joan Jett: Her performance at last year’s ceremony subbing for Cobain on “Smells Like Teen Spirit” reminded us of how good she really was, and her nomination will appease both those clamoring for more straight-up rock, and those who were concerned by the presence of only one woman on the ballot last year (not counting some Chic vocalists).
9. Sonic Youth: See #8; their front woman also sang with “Hervana” at the induction ceremony last year, boosting their already considerable chances to get in as one of the more recent acts on the ballot. They will replace The Replacements in the “alternative rock pioneers” slot.
10. De La Soul: Questlove and others have made it clear that they are pulling for them, and their pioneering hip-hop makes a case for their historicity, even though this outfit is entirely unrecognized in Middle America.
11. The Zombies: A lot of people were rooting for The Zombies last year, including myself. Rock critics love them, the public recognizes a few of their songs (most notably “Time of the Season”), and they would be a good way to close the book on British Invasion bands. This will be their year, took a long time to come.
12. Dire Straits: No proof, no evidence, just a hunch. They’re too good of a band to have not gotten any consideration, and there’s no plausible explanation on why they haven’t gotten nominated yet that sticks.
13. Janet Jackson: The social networking efforts of @InductJanet has done a lot of things right. They’ve taken a persuasive, encouraging tone rather than the petty, indignant tones other fans of snubbed artists have fallen into (mostly metal heads and rockists), eliciting positive responses from everyone from Questlove to Missy Elliot. And Janet deserves it. (updated Sept. 13 to replace The Eurythmics)
14. Link Wray: Lots of rock historians were edified by Wray’s appearance on the ballot last year. If you haven’t heard his only real hit, “Rumble”, go play it for a minute; he invented both guitar distortion and power-chords as viable concepts within a song, influencing plenty of future axemen, including Pete Townshend. With the ceremony being held in Cleveland in 2015, and expectations thus a bit lower than this year’s in Brooklyn, an influential nominee with little name recognition might have a better chance this time around.
15. Bill Withers: Another singer-songwriter, but his soulful approach will hopefully keep votes from being drawn away from Carole King. Withers’ mid-70s hits, from “Lean on Me” to “Ain’t No Sunshine” reverberate to this day.
16. Chicago: The hall, as others have pointed out, has gotten more populist lately, and lots of commercially successful bands that were snubbed are finally getting recognized. If Hall & Oates can get in, why not Chicago? They had more hits than any rock band not in the Hall of Fame, and between Kath’s guitar, Seraphine’s drums, Cetera’s vocals, and Pankow’s horn arrangements, there’s no denying they pass the “excellence” test. Robert Lamm reported last year that sources told him they were the last cut from the ballot for the class of 2014.
Another thing to consider: the Rock Hall wants to avoid another KISS fiasco. Chicago dialed down their criticism of the rock hall in recent years, and both the band and Peter Cetera have intimated that a rock hall performance is the only way on earth that a reunion would happen. It could draw some good press for all parties concerned if it happens.
Interesting list. I hope you’re right about Chic not being nominated again. Nothing against Chic, but the Nomination Committee should give it a rest with Chic for a bit.
Chicago and De La Soul would be nice surprises. Another nice surprise would be Janet Jackson. Thoughts on Janet’s chances?
Thanks for commenting, Marco! I’d love to see Janet get in. She was an important Pop/R&B artist, and I think she has had more top ten hits than any eligible artist who isn’t in the hall…surpassing Chicago and her sorta-contemporary Whitney Houston. I’m just not sure this is her year. Part of it is the huge backlog of overlooked 70s acts (which is the rock hall’s own fault). But another reason is that they may be saving her for a different year- remember, they are having the ceremony in Cleveland this year, a small media market and that means less attention. So, given that Jackson is both a major showstopper and that she’s probably going to get in on her first nomination, I’d say the Class of ’16 (LA) or ’17 (NYC again) is more likely.
I think Janet Jackson should be considered, as well, and, eventually, inducted. (Not for commercial reasons, as that’s not a main factor). However, the last decade-plus, though, may have hurt her chances- the material from the last three albums just didn’t cut it. Note that she, aside from not yet being nominated, hasn’t been considered as of yet, either (per Future Rock Legends- this means via a nomination or serious discussion). In any event, for a number of acts, it’s just a matter of time. The committee apparently didn’t think she was one of those no-brainer, first-year-eligible acts.
As for Chicago- like with Heart, the slick 1980s-on material may have hurt its chances up until Now. But, Heart is now in, so why not Chicago?
Well, urban legends suggest that Hall of Fame head honcho Jann Werner absolutely hates the band, and made sure every album they released got a terrible review in Rolling Stone. (No one knows why, but my theory involves James Pankow, Werner’s lady, and a hot tub.) But then, Dave Marsh, a critic of extraordinary influence, hates KISS with similar passion, and they got in. My larger point is that the Hall is overcoming some of its traditional prejudices, and this bodes well for Chicago.
And you raise an excellent point– if producing bad material in the 80s was a disqualifying factor, most of the acts in the hall wouldn’t have gotten in!
dang, put Link in. How can you doubt Jimmy Page on “It Might Get Loud” pulling Link’s “Rumble” out of that massive audio library and states this cat is what got me going. For Christ sake, show this pioneer of the power chord the same respect that you showed Madonna.
Link was certainly influential, and I see your point. On the other hand, there’s something to be said for having a great career over having a great song, and you’d have to be a pretty devoted fan of early rock to know something Link did besides “Rumble.” And yet, its an agonizing call…he came to fame far too late to be considered an “Early Influence.”
I think Chic will get nominated again. Especially now that Nile Rodgers won like 5 Grammys this year. I believe they deserve to make it. I’d love to see War pop up in the nominations again also, theyre music has a lot of blended influences which in return influenced a lot of bands. The Dominoes, Chuck Willis, Link Wray are the three last 50s artists that I want inducted. As for the Rock and Roll sub-genere known as hip-hop, NWA, Eric B & Rakim, De La Soul, LL Cool J, and Afrika Bambaataa all deserve to get in the hall eventually. NWA should be the first of them to get in tho. The others could fall in any order. And I’d like to think Gram Parsons is next in line for the singer-songwriter spot but I wouldn’t mind if Carole King claims it because she deserves to get in the hall twice but I doubt it’ll happen. Nick Drake could also get the singer-songwriter spot or maybe even Warren Zevon. Kraftwerk needs to get in soon also, after they get in I assume Joy Division and or New Order will get nominated. Also Roxy Music and The Smiths should be taken into nomination consideration. Big Star should get nominated, Alex Chilton is a legend in music and deserves to be in the hall and Big Star is his best bet. Also MC5, New York Dolls, and The Cure definetly shouldn’t have been given up on after one nomination. They should all find there way back on the nomination ballot soon. And also isnt Pavement eligible this year? I wouldnt be suprised if they got on the ballot but I wouldnt be suprised if they werent either. You made yourself one well put together nomination prediction.
Thank you, Alec! And you raise a good point- its very difficult to predict just what the singer-songwriter pecking order is. I figured that King has done enough “rock hall stuff” (like giving nominating speeches and performing at previous ceremonies) to be in the hall’s good graces. But then, how did Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, and Laura Nyro leapfrog over her?
So there will be one or two singer-songwriter slots, and its entirely possible that your predictions will prevail over mine– Zevon has lots of famous friends, and strong cases for Croce and Drake (and someone neither of us mentioned, Carly Simon) can be made.
The problem is that there is such a huge backlog of great artists. It raises great conceptual problems– do you pick the few remaining 50s and 60s acts, or do you move on to artists from the 70s and 80s? And for good or ill, the Rock Hall’s deal with HBO to air their ceremonies makes it more difficult for non-household-names to get in. Notice how all six who were picked for 2014 were names everyone in Middle America was familiar with.
Hope you’re right about Link.
We’ll see, Greg! The ballot last year was so strong that I think ultimately almost everyone who didn’t get in last year will be renominated.
Thanks for mentioning YES. You put forth a very interesting theory about last year. Kate Bush might be in their thinking just now as well.
Exactly right. The more I think about it, the less likely a Carole King nomination is– its definitely in the Hall’s way of thinking to say “well, she’s already in as a songwriter…” but Kate Bush’s triumphant new tour puts her back on the map, and she is definitely an original. If she were nominated, I wouldn’t complain at all.
You’ll be happy to know, by the way, that Yes seemed to have missed out by only 20 votes or so. Without sentimental picks like Nirvana and Ronstadt on the ballot this year, presumably, I’d say their chances are pretty high.
which means that my original theory about the cruise was wrong. Well, right in the sense that Yes ~almost~ got in. But still wrong.
What are the chances that Whitney Houston would make the ballot?
My Spider-sense says ‘quite low’ this year. There’s no denying her talent or her success, but last year seemed like ‘her year’- the first ballot held after her sad and very sudden death.
The other problem is that Induct Janet has been active, a huge social media effort to push for Janet Jackson- and Questlove, Missy Elliot, and many others have lent their support. I doubt very much that the Hall will nominate both Jackson and Houston for the first time in the same year.
In fact, I think I need to revisit my list so that includes Janet (and maybe takes the Eurythmics out).
[…] going to start by making one small change to my predictions for the Rock Hall’s class of 2015: swapping out the Eurythmics in favor of Janet Jackson. The social networking efforts of […]
Stevie Ray Vaughan…you forget him? Way overdue for nomination/induction.
I’d love for Stevie to get in– in my recent September 8th post where I list 192 eligible artists I would have put in the Hall of Fame, Stevie’s there.
And yet, since the year he first became eligible, everyone has said “SRV is gonna be on the ballot” and it hasn’t happened. I’m sure eventually he’ll be nominated, but I see no reason yet why this is his year.
One other reason is that the Hall won’t want to risk too many dead guys being nominated in one year. Lou Reed’s death and previous nominations make it likely he’ll appear, and Link Wray was a well-received choice last year. If Reed, Wray, and SRV are all nominated and all somehow get in, half of your inductees are dead, which makes for bad ratings for the Rock Hall’s HBO induction show.
None of this is fair to SRV of course, but this is why I don’t think he will be on the ballot this year. I hope I’m wrong.
Alex,
I can’t deny your reasoning is sound, but I’m hoping that after Jeff Beck, Freddie, and Albert King were inducted these past three years, the next blues “guitar giant” will be SRV. This would be his 60th birthday year, but next year is the 25th anniversary of his death, so maybe next year instead. But I would love to see Eric Clapton, Billy Gibbons, Jimmy Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, and Eric Johnson all jamming with Double Trouble and playing SRV tunes as per the Nirvana tribute this year. That would be a really great RRHF segment and made for TV. Either way, I’m hoping the wait for SRV ends soon. It’s way overdue
Well, I should add that Tom Lane, a Rock Hall expert I respect a great deal, predicts SRV, as did Future Rock Legends.
Take a look at: http://tomlanesblog.blogspot.sg
and
http://www.futurerocklegends.com/2015_Nomination_Predictions.php
Carole King is a tough sell, because she’s technically already been inducted back in the 80s, but not as a performer. She was inducted as part of the Goffin/King songwriting team, and I’m sure many will argue that that phase of her career had the most impact on popular music, while her solo career only really consisted of “Tapestry”. It’s certainly a landmark, but since that is her only real claim outside of her initial songwriting team, it may not be strong enough to convince people she deserves re-induction as a solo performer.
That may be true, Josh– but Carole had a real canon of good albums in the 1970s, even if Tapestry got the most credit. Anecdotally, I’ve worked with countless women who are baby boomers with named like Debbie and Jeanette and almost every one of them has spoken highly of Tapestry. Not just as a great piece of music, but as a moment in their lives that helped them understand what it meant to be a woman. That it was okay to leave a relationship that isn’t working out (“It’s Too Late”). That it wasn’t wrong to feel physical pleasure (“I Feel the Earth Move.”) On those grounds, King stands out even in pop music’s most competitive decade, the 1970s.
Besides– somebody- eventually- has to be the first person inducted as a performer and a non-performer. Maybe it’ll be Todd Rundgren. Maybe it’ll be Brian Eno. I think it should be Carole King- and it should be done while she is still alive.
Not sure that someone has to be the first, but if such should happen, would not Bob Dylan be the choice? Followed by Lennon/McCartney, Gibb Brothers, Jagger/Richard, Paul Simon… well you get the picture. There would be a flood of existing performers who are clearly equally important as songwriters or producers.
My answer is that none of the figures you mentioned worked principally as a songwriter, at the expense of recording and/or performing, at any point in their careers. King, in contrast, had two fairly distinct careers, an early 60s career as a Brill Building songwriter, and a second, 70s career as a musician. Both were outstanding, and both deserve their own induction in the proper category, I would argue.
Cheap Trick is long overdue.
Agree with Ellen in KY. CHEAP TRICK.
I agree with both of you that Cheap Trick should be in- and that they should have a nomination. The trouble is that the Hall dithered, put in critics pets over fan favorites, inducted only five artists some years, and hence- there’s a huge backlog of artists in the Top 40 rock vein– Chicago, The Cars, Boston, Grand Funk Railroad, Dire Straits, and yes, Cheap Trick.
I like your choices of Deep Purple and Chicago who both should have been in long before. Carole King should be in as an entertainer but they’ve decided she is a builder so they’ll keep putting her on hold. Dire Straits and Yes are classy bands so I wouldn’t mind if they got in. I’m not familiar with modern groups so I’ll go along with your choices. I love the Zombies but Manfred Mann has a better track record for the British Invasion period than they do and deserve get in before them. Everyone suspects that there is an “unspoken quota” in the voting system which accounts for some “one shot wonders” (Isaac Hayes? Percy Sledge?) being included and many other notable artists being excluded:(every year must have at least one black artist, one woman, one American act, and with a few exceptions no one inducted who can be remotely branded a “wimp” {which is stretched to exclude virtually all middle of the road acts and explains why groups like Chicago, the Guess Who, the Moody Blues, Tommy James etc seldom get a mention}) I agree that most of the artists in the hall deserved to get in but this quota system that is keeping out many notable artists is making the hall look like a laughing stock. Some artists aren’t even regarding it as an honor anymore even when they do get nominated or accepted. Just a few of my personal beefs besides Deep Purple and Chicago which you’ve already noted:
1. Connie Francis – Her crime was to be raped and then she became a hermit and her music forgotten. But the woman who has probably charted more times than any other rock/pop female artist not in the hall of fame? Her exclusion is probably most glaring disgrace for the hall and I’m not even a fan.
2. Dick Dale – He was the founder surf music. The hall likes to think they recognize anyone founds a “genre” of rock music. The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean and every other California surf song owes a debt to Dick Dale.
3. T Rex – Similarly he was the founder of what became known as “Glam Rock” in the 1970s. He’s excluded because he not well known in America, but no T Rex, then perhaps no good friend David Bowie and quite a few other artists.
4 & 5. The Guess Who and Gordon Lightfoot – Rush deserved to get in but anyone with any knowledge of the history of Canadian rock music knows that in the early years these two acts put Canadian rock music on the map virtually before anyone else was around and should have been inducted first. The Guess Who and its offshoots BTO and Burton Cummings’ solo career have charted too many times to count. And Gordon Lightfoot has a song writing career to match the best in rock. He was the only one to write about the race riots in Detroit (Black Day in July) and many other relevant issues.
6. Peter Paul and Mary – The hall likes to include “big influences from other genres” like country, jazz, etc, specifically Miles Davis, Johnny Cash, Hank Ballard even though they made virtually no impact on the rock charts. Well folk music made a big impact on mid-60s music and Peter Paul and Mary not only help blend the two styles together, they’ve had more success on the pop charts than the other three listed above. They helped popularize Bob Dylan’s songs. Why are they excluded? On the same line many rock artists claim that they were influenced by Bach, Beethoven and Mozart etc. Roll Over Beethoven?
7. Chicago, Moody Blues, Monkees, Tommy James, Three Dog Night, Bread, Turtles, Paul Revere, Cliff Richard, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Doobie Brothers, Cars, Peter Frampton, Searchers, Foreigner etc. – Okay the idea is to keep out the likes of the Osmonds, Fabian, Hudson Brothers, Ray Peterson, Bobby Goldsboro, Partridge Family, Carpenters, etc. but this label is stretched to include anybody who can be tainted remotely this way. Hence all the people in the first group and many other deserving artists don’t ever get a mention.
8. One final thing. Is this the “World Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame” or just the English speaking rock and roll hall of fame? To date no one who sings rock music in a foreign language has been inducted.
Thanks, Steve, for some comprehensive and enlightening comments.
About the quotas– I’m not sure I agree— they’ve had all white inductee years (like last year), and all male inductee years in the past. And the quotas don’t quite add up– if they are desperate for, say, black acts, why Percy Sledge and Solomon Burke, rather than Bill Withers or The Spinners? If they are trying to shoehorn female acts in, why are Laura Nyro and Darlene Love in, but not Janet Jackson or Carly Simon or Leslie Gore?
I think you do, though, raise a good point about whether or not this is an Anglophone-only institution. In the same way that we, in a conceit, call the national baseball championship ‘the world series’, the Rock Hall acts like a global phenomenon, but leaves out acts that speak non-English languages. Kraftwerk, though, has been nominated twice before. If they ever get in, they would probably be the first act to break that barrier.
Thanks for your reply Alex. I agree the that the quotas are a controversial issue and of course I’ll probably never be able to prove that they exist though by the selection of the acts currently in the Hall of Fame, I and many others believe that there is a bias involved. As I mentioned in my previous comment, I have no quibble with most of the artists who have been inducted including Solomon Burke, but when one-shot artists like Hayes, Sledge, Ojays are inducted and obvious choices like Deep Purple, Francis, Chicago, etc., are neither inducted or even nominated then many people start to question the Hall’s credibility. I suspect social history plays a significant part in the selection process. Blacks and women have traditionally been victims of prejudice and now in this new liberal age I suspect the Hall is anxious to prove that they are neither racist or sexist and go out of their way to include marginal acts because of this to the exclusion of more deserving artists. There is also the curious case of Lionel Richie who has a track record as good as Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. He is certainly more deserving than the three Black artists I listed above. In fact he was the only one to take part in Live Aid in 1985. Is he being kept out because the Hall wants to deny it has a pro-Black bias?
One other issue that I didn’t raise is the composition of the selection committee. Who are these people? How representative are they? Do they have any Canadians, Irish, and Australians and most critically UK members on this committee who know accurately the history of rock music in these countries? Many on the selection committee I suspect are connected with Rolling Stone magazine who certainly are biased in who they favor. And if you check the lists of the Rolling Stone ALL TIME Top, Songs, Guitarists, Singers, Albums, Pop Songs, etc, it’s not hard to see that most of the artists who are on them are already in the Hall of Fame. You won’t see the likes of Chicago, 3 Dog Night, Guess Who, Supertramp, Styx, Tommy James, Moody Blues, etc. who are considered light weight white artists on these lists. Occasionally, an act like the Bee Gees, ABBA, Donna Summer, Linda Rondstadt who are too important to be ignored get into the Hall but they are few and far between. I have a 6 disc History of Rock and Roll dvd set and (with the exception of Peter Frampton and one fleeting glimpse of the Bee Gees) all the acts are the kind that Rolling Stone/Time/Life would favor and middle of the road AM rock gets completely ignored. While I personally like almost all of Rolling Stone’s choices I do recognize that AM rock isn’t all bad and the wimp label that seems to pasted on the artists I have listed in many cases is very unfair and the exclusion of these obvious choices is damaging the credibility of the Hall.
[…] And, as a recap, my own predictions were: […]
Oh, here we go again…
Firstly, this is really a MUSIC Hall of Fame.
2. No one I know, which is classic rock lovers, experts, and even musicians, has even the slightest respect for the Hall of Fame.
3. Intelligent rockers, have wisely, yet politely, pointed out that this is a private institution, with no credibility in the eyes of musicians.
Therefore, while it is exciting to discuss, and you all have great comments, the process of deciding inductees is phony, ludicrous, and condescending to fans.
One must only value the wisdom of people who have been in the industry as musicians, or perhaps their personnel, to select inductees.
We see YES, Chicago, Purple, The Guess Who, the Moody Blues, Tommy James, Paul Revere and the Raiders, TDN, and others, just sort of hoping.
Of all the absurdities and colossal insults to our intelligence! ! These I list, and similar others, MADE rock.
Yes outdrew even Zep, and drew thousands each night, even tens of thousands. They pioneered prog, like no one.
There are young executive types, and other people who have no real understanding as to the era, or to talent, and nod those others in.
No offense is intended to the ones we all know don’t belong there, but a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame absent of the greats, and who induct other genres, or bands who really did not do much, has no credibility whatsoever.
Jeff Lynne
[…] some of you may remember, I put up my predictions in June. I fully expected to get 8 or 9 right of the 16 artists I predicted and establish myself as the […]
I really must know how Nine Inch Nails get in before Depeche Mode. Rolling Stone just DID NOT respect electronic music until about ’94 or so (& they were just trend hunting at that point), but LO! Add abrasive guitars to it (NIN), & bingo, RS loves you. I know the Hall isn’t quite in the thrall of Jann & co. as they used to be (hello Cliff Bernstein/Tom Morrello/?uestlove!), but I’ve stated this elsewhere, & you seem like an educated sort, so you might appreciate it—Nine Inch Nails getting in the *Modern Music* Hall of Fame before Kraftwerk & Depeche Mode is like Soundgarden getting in before Black Sabbath & Led Zeppelin. The analogy works even better when you remember Depeche Mode have sold 100 million records (dwarfing NIN’s sales), & were a huge part of breaking down the barrier between alternative & the mainstream that the Seattle bands (& Mr. Reznor) walked right through.
Glad The Smiths are at least noticed now, as this was quickly becoming the AMERICAN Modern Music Hall of Fame. Some day New Order/Joy Division, The Cure, King Crimson & Yes should all get in, & get in easily. The fact that Chic is out & “all my hits were written by others” Ms. Joan Jett is seemingly in is absurd too. When an institution calls itself “musical” & has Ms. Jett in & not, say, Tori Amos, is when the damn thing becomes about attitude, & not skill, soul, & craft.
I have just 2 words: Moody Blues. No wait. 2 more. Why not?
I’m for Alice in Chains being not only nominated but inducted. This is the rock n roll hall of fame not some hip hop pants below the waist bs. AiC were at the forefront of the Grunge scene. If anything they were the sole reason for the title. I get Nirvana needed in, but the music Alice in chains made was arguably the most technical of any Seattle outfit. Cantrell is by far the most inspirational guitarist and the best purely gifted guitarist of that movement. His solos, odd time signatures, technical solos that fit like a glove and his overall musical writing ability are unmatched of the Seattle phase. He has guitars named after him, effects and amps barring his name, and is a living guitar God. Name me 5 bands who lost a killer lead vocalist and continue to release solid albums and tour everywhere? AiC is one. Speaking of Layne Staley.. not as gifted on the guitar as Cobain, but he could sing with anyone. His voice screamed grunge. AiC deserve the hall. And Seattle’s grunge deserve at minimum 4 bands inducted. Alice, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden
With all those mentioned above, I’ll never know how Grand Funk Railroad has been left out. This was a transition band from 60’s hippie rock to 70’s arena/stadium hard rock, and believe me, there was no other group (Zep, Sabbath, Purple) that came close to their popularity and sales. And after their manager gave them the shaft, they turned to radio and made it all back again. It has been rumored, though, that had the original 3 members stayed together after their successful 90’s comeback, they’d be in….. This one omission, proves the Hall of Fame ain’t legitimate.
[…] Yes: So, my theory last year that they had actually gotten voted in for the Class of 2014 but could not attend because of […]
[…] Yes: So, my theory last year that they had actually gotten voted in for the Class of 2014 but could not attend because of […]