Hail, hail Rock and Roll! This week the spotlight is on The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland and dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and others who have in some major way influenced the rock music industry. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983 but had no home until 1993. The search committee considered several cities, including Memphis (home of Sun Studios and Stax Records), Cincinnati (home of King Records), New York City, and Cleveland. Cleveland lobbied hard to be chosen, citing that Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with promoting the new genre (and the term) "rock and roll," and that Cleveland was the location of the first rock and roll concert.
Artists become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame in their category (performers, non performers, sidemen, early influencers, and lifetime achievement) 25 years after the release of their first record. In order to be inducted, an artist must be nominated by a committee that selects anywhere from nine to a dozen candidates. Ballots are then sent to 500 "rock experts" for voting. Only performers that receive the highest number of votes and more than 50 percent of the vote are inducted. The rest of the categories are voted on by special committees.
Now that you’ve got the history, let’s look at the list of this year’s nominees (the numbers beside a name represent the number of times they were previously nominated):
Alice Cooper
Beastie Boys (2)
Bon Jovi
Chic (6)
Neil Diamond
Donovan
Dr. John
J. Geils Band (3)
LL Cool J (2)
Darlene Love (3)
Laura Nyro (2)
Donna Summer (3)
Joe Tex (4)
Tom Waits
Chuck Willis (5)
Rather than talk about all of these groups, some of which I am sure you know well, I am going to talk to you about the five artists I think should be inducted.
I love, absolutely love Darlene Love. In 1962 she began working with producer Phil Spector. With her powerful voice she was soon a highly sought-after vocalist, and managed to work with many of the legends of 1950s and 1960s rock and soul, including Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher. Darlene sang back-up vocals on Shelley Fabares's hit "Johnny Angel." She also sang backing vocals on many of the biggest hits of the 1960s, including "Da Doo Ron Ron.” Though credited by Spector as recorded by The Crystals, "He's A Rebel" and "He's Sure The Boy I Love" actually featured Love singing lead, backed by The Blossoms. "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" was released as a single by Spector, and featured Love's name as the artist. Darlene is probably most know for her songs “A Fine Fine Boy” and “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” a song she has performed annually on The Late Show with David Letterman since 1986.
The legendary folk-rock/pop troubadour Donovan began his career as an itinerant folk musician, creating acoustic hits in 1965 with Catch the Wind and Colours before transforming the pop music landscape with a series of enigmatic folk/ pop masterpieces that continue to be played on radio and television. From 1966 through 1969, Donovan scored a string of eleven Top 40 hits in a row, including “Mellow Yellow,” “Sunshine Superman,” “Epistle To Dippy,” “There Is A Mountain,” “Wear Your Love Like Heaven,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” ” Jennifer Juniper,” “Lalena,” “Atlantis,” and “Riki Tiki Tavi.” Donovan was one of the few artists to collaborate on songs with the Beatles, contributing lyrics and vocals to “Yellow Submarine.” Donovan was also invited by The Beatles to join them at Abbey Road Studios for the final orchestral overdub session for “A Day in the Life,” the grand finale of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Do I actually need to tell you about Neil Diamond? I’ll let his songs speak for himself. “Sweet Caroline,” “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” “Red Red Wine,” “Holly Holy,” and many, many more. He has sold over 115 million records worldwide, including over 48 million in the U.S. In terms of Billboard chart success, he is the third most successful Adult Contemporary artist ever, ranking behind only Barbra Streisand and Elton John.
The Beastie Boys began as a hardcore punk group in 1979, first appearing on the compilation cassette New York Thrash with Riot Fight and Beastie, and later released their debut EP, Beastie Groove, in 1982. After achieving moderate local success with the 1983 release of experimental hip-hop 12" Cooky Puss, they made the transition to hip-hop in 1984 and a string of successful 12" singles followed culminating with their debut album Licensed to Ill (1986) which received international critical acclaim and commercial success. They are one of the longest lived hip-hop acts worldwide and continue to enjoy commercial and critical success. In 2009, more than 20 years after the release of their debut album, the group released digitally remastered deluxe editions of their albums Paul's Boutique, Check Your Head', Ill Communication and Hello Nasty. Check out “Girls,” “Brass Monkey,” “Intergalatic,” and “Sabotage.”
Again, what can I say about Bon Jovi that you don’t already know? Throughout their career, which started in 1983, the band has released twelve studio albums, two compilation albums and one live album, and has sold over 130 million records worldwide. They have performed more than 2,600 concerts in over 50 countries for more than 34 million fans, and were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006. The band was also honored with the Award of Merit at the American Music Awards in 2004, and as songwriters and collaborators, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. Rather listening to the radio, where you will find their most popular songs played, might I suggest “Bed Of Roses,” “I’ll Be There For You,” “Keep the Faith,” “Who Says You Can’t Go Home,” and “You Want To Make A Memory.”
So there you have it readers, a little history about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this year’s list, and who I think should be inducted. I could write another blog on why I am upset KISS has yet to be nominated, but I will instead take a deep breath… and ask you who from the above list you would like to see make it, or who you think should be nominated. Thankfully we have to wait at least 24-25 years before Justin Bieber is considered. Until next time…
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