Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame 2011 Inductees

[kak125]

I could only get the list with pictures from Rolling Stone.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/photos/28431/211349

found the list


The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011 are Alice Cooper, Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, J Geils Band, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits and Chuck Willis.

They were announced this morning at www.rockhall.com. Five will be chosen for induction.

To be eligible for nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year's nominees had to release their first single no later than 1985.

Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select the artists to be inducted at the 26th Annual Induction Ceremony on March 14 at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. It will be televised live on Fuse.



Read more: http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10271/1090960-388.stm#ixzz10puab3B6

[DefDumbandBlond]

Yay Donna! :blob1::blob2:

[jaycee]

Meh. It's not that meaningful to be inducted (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame#Criticism). Several artists better than some that have been inducted have yet to be considered, if they ever will be (due to the importance of popularity).

[Enchanted_Stevi]

WHy is LL Cool J being inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fam?!?!?

[Nikolaj]

My guess is that Darlene Love will be the shoe-in, followed by Laura Nyro.
I doubt that Alice Cooper will make the cut. And wasn't 'Alice Cooper' initially a band, and not an individual? Do the original members get into the Hall of Fame, too? I don't think it will wind up being an issue, I'd be very surprised for Cooper to be inducted.
The others listed- who knows. Not too exciting, again.

[Zombie]

I doubt that Alice Cooper will make the cut. And wasn't 'Alice Cooper' initially a band, and not an individual? Do the original members get into the Hall of Fame, too? I don't think it will wind up being an issue, I'd be very surprised for Cooper to be inducted.

Quoi?

http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv335/nowgozombiego/alicelol.gif

Alice Cooper is a legend - he's been hugely influential in hard rock and metal since the early 70s, and he's an all-around stand-up guy to boot. I don't see why it would be surprising for him to be inducted.

But yes - "Alice Cooper" was originally a full band. Furnier took the band name as his own in '75 and it's been his solo project since. He had 7 studio albums with the band, 4 of which went platinum while a 5th went gold. Of his 18 solo albums, quite a few went gold or platinum both in the US and abroad. So yeah...not seeing why someone that prolific, with that kind of influence and record sales, would be surprising.

But yay Tom Waits!

[Nikolaj]

^ I really didn't know.
I totally believe you- you're informed about his career, and I wasn't, until your message!
-I had no idea that he'd even recorded or performed at all in the past 20 years or had 18 solo cds. That is a ton. I'm happy you're pleased, and happy for him, and you seem right that his chances of making the cut are much likelier than I thought. I was uninformed and underestimated his career.

[HomerMcvie]

Until those FKRs add Bob Welch, under FM's addition, they can suck it!:mad:





:eek::lol:

[Zombie]

^ No kidding? I really didn't know.
I totally believe you- you're informed about his career, and I wasn't, until your message!
-I had no idea that he'd even recorded or performed in the past 20 years. I'm happy for you, and happy for him, and you seem right that his chances of making the cut are much likelier than I thought. I was uninformed and underestimated his career.

Haha, no worries - I wasn't yelling at you or anything, just wanted to offer a little info. But yeah - he's made an awesome career for himself. First album in 1969, most recent was in 2008, and he's got another one coming soon from what I hear. He'll be out on tour with Rob Zombie shortly, too.

[Meowi]

My vote goes to Alice Cooper.

[iamnotafraid]

I would like to cut out about half the groups already inducted.
It grows weaker every year. Jesse Camp will be included one
day. Who knows, maybe Stevie will induct him.

[Nikolaj]

Well, only 5 acts get inducted this year, is that new? The names announced today were the nominees, they're not inductees, as it seems that people think --not here on The Ledge.
I've been reading commentaries elsewhere today that indicate that many people think that all of today's nominees are going to be inducted.

[iamnotafraid]

^ I really don't see anybody on that list of nominees that I would put in
except maybe Neil Diamond and Bon Jovi. As I said the nominees get
weaker and weaker every year.

Compare the last few years of inductees with these guys:

Elvis Presley
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
Bob Dylan
Roy Orbison
Beatles
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin

As great as Fleetwood Mac is, do they even compare to
those on this short list?

[Nikolaj]

^ I really don't see anybody on that list of nominees that I would put in
except maybe Neil Diamond and Bon Jovi. As I said the nominees get
weaker and weaker every year.

Compare the last few years of inductees with these guys:

Elvis Presley
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
Bob Dylan
Roy Orbison
Beatles
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin

As great as Fleetwood Mac is, do they even compare to
those on this short list?

YES!~ I think Fleetwood Mac are much more interesting musically than Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Roy Orbinson combined. I mean no offense, but most rock music pre-1964 just hasn't held up, to my ears.
I guess 'rock and roll' started in the 50's, but the best of the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s rock - when it was good- now seems timeless, while much of the 1950's rock seems 'quaint'- to me. I think many people could quickly name 2o great songs from the 1960s on, by decade. I'd have a hard time of thinking of 10 good songs from the 1950s, but that means nothing, of course!

[jaycee]

^ I really don't see anybody on that list of nominees that I would put in
except maybe Neil Diamond and Bon Jovi. As I said the nominees get
weaker and weaker every year.

Compare the last few years of inductees with these guys:

Elvis Presley
Little Richard
Chuck Berry
Bob Dylan
Roy Orbison
Beatles
Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin

As great as Fleetwood Mac is, do they even compare to
those on this short list?

YES!~ I think Fleetwood Mac are much more interesting musically than Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Roy Orbinson combined. I mean no offense, but most rock music pre-1964 just hasn't held up, to my ears.
I guess 'rock and roll' started in the 50's, but the best of the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s rock - when it was good- now seems timeless, while much of the 1950's rock seems 'quaint'- to me. I think many people could quickly name 2o great songs from the 1960s on, by decade. I'd have a hard time of thinking of 10 good songs from the 1950s, but that means nothing, of course!

Indeed they do get weaker. Also, consider other influential greats that haven't been nominated, like The Moody Blues, The Mothers Of Invention, Jethro Tull, and Electric Light Orchestra, to name a few (in fairness, they're not strictly rock & roll bands, although that hasn't mattered in past inductions). The Hall Of Fame is a farce.
I'm with Nikolaj - looking at the first ~20 years of FM, they are up there, so far as I'm concerned.

[chiliD]

Until those FKRs add Bob Welch, under FM's addition, they can suck it!:mad:


Don't get me started! :mad:


And, until LEON RUSSELL gets in, NOBODY should go in...nobody deserves to be in the R&RHoF more than Leon (of those not already in, that is...and even a ****load of them aren't as worthy as Leon...can you say "ABBA"? "Run-DMC"? "Grandmaster Flash"?)...if not as "performer", then at least as "sideman".

Look, without those '50's rockers, there wouldn't have BEEN '60's rockers, and so on. That said, where is the "Rock & Roll Trio"? Johnny & Dorsey Burnette/Paul Burlison. They're as deserving to being in the Hall as the rest of the '50s guys.

Oh...and jaycee, Frank Zappa IS in already....doubt that the entire MOI would get in.


And, the most disgusting thing of all is that Jann Wenner himself is in the Hall....what a self-grandizing crock o'crap THAT guy is.

[Artemis]

Donna Summer? Now, this may just be because I don't know much of her music... but, I thought she was some Disco Queen? Not Rock?

[Nikolaj]

Donna Summer? Now, this may just be because I don't know much of her music... but, I thought she was some Disco Queen? Not Rock?

Donna has actually won a best rock vocal Grammy, possibly two, and has also won Grammy's for Inspirational (gospel) vocal, and I believe in yet another category, but I agree with you that 'rock and roll' is not what one would think of when thinking of Donna Summer. The same goes for Billie Holiday, who is in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and Holiday died in 1959 and never sang a rock song. I wonder if Donna will actually make the cut this year.
I think Donna's rock category Grammy wins were for 'Hot Stuff' and for 'Protection' (edit: wrong; nominated, didn't win for 'Protection')- which Bruce Springsteen wrote for her circa 1982, which shows there was some support for her rock endeavors. She may have also had a rock vocal nomination for 'Cold Love'- I should google this, but that's off the top of my head, such as it is!
Edit: I have some of the above info wrong, this should be correct, below. She has won five Grammy Awards and has had a total of 17 nominations.

Grammy Wins for Donna Summer:
1979 – Best R&B Vocal Performance (Female), Last Dance
1980 – Best Rock Vocal Performance (Female), Hot Stuff
1984 – Best Inspirational Performance, He's a Rebel
1985 – Best Inspirational Performance, Forgive Me
1998 – Best Dance Recording, Carry On

Twelve Other Grammy Award nominations, for which she didn't win:
1979 – Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), MacArthur Park
1980 – Album of the Year, Bad Girls
1980 – Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), Bad Girls
1980 – Best R&B Vocal Performance (Female), Dim All the Lights
1980 – Best Disco Recording, Bad Girls
1981 – Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), On the Radio
1982 – Best Rock Vocal Performance (Female), Cold Love
1982 – Best Inspirational Performance, I Believe in Jesus
1983 – Best Rock Vocal Performance (Female), Protection
1983 – Best R&B Vocal Performance (Female), Love is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)
1984 – Best Pop Vocal Performance (Female), She Works Hard for the Money
2000 – Best Dance Recording, I Will Go with You (Con te Partiro)

--It may not be an accident that Donna recently (in the past 2 months) released a new single 'Love From Paris' and did a handful of concerts to up her chances at this year's nomination. I think she received a nomination last year also for the R&RHOF but didn't make the final cut.

[tilthefirefades]

Laura Nyro is one of my favorite singers, but she is far from rock. I say good luck to Alice.

[iamnotafraid]

YES!~ I think Fleetwood Mac are much more interesting musically than Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Roy Orbinson combined. I mean no offense, but most rock music pre-1964 just hasn't held up, to my ears.
I guess 'rock and roll' started in the 50's, but the best of the '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s rock - when it was good- now seems timeless, while much of the 1950's rock seems 'quaint'- to me.

I personally like Fleetwood Mac more than Chuck Berry and Little Richard
combined. But that wasn't my point. Who's more important in the history
of Rock 'n Roll was more what I was getting at. Those artist in the 50's changed
the world, most especially Elvis. And you could extend that to the mid 60's
to a lesser degree with other artist.

And as far as the 50's music sounding quaint, I can remember when the
group Kiss was new. And I thought their music sounds so hard rock. But now
when I hear them it's not much different than some Rock music from the 50's.
You can't take people out of their time and be fair judging them by todays
sounds.

[Nikolaj]

You can't take people out of their time and be fair judging them by todays
sounds>>>wrote the formidable iamnotafraid

Iamnotafraid, I agree with your above quote, because it sounds very true and really deep, but I feel like I'm tripping when I try to understand what the ef it means, even though it sounds like it makes sense!

I don't even know what I think of today's sounds. I can't remember much of the 1960s, little bits here and there, my memory bank really seems to kick in around 1973, when I was 9. So, I can appreciate 60s, 70s ,80s,and 90s music equally, but wasn't alive in the 1950s, so maybe you mean I'm taking people like Chuck Berry out of their time? That could be true. But how can one take another out of their time? I just meant that I don't think his music has endured, though his foundation has.
I was maybe a year old when the Rolling Stones starting getting big, and certainly can't remember 'Mother's Little Helper'' or even 'Gimme Shelter' being hits, but they sound awesome and timeless, even if I was teething to "Mother's Little Helper"- or 'Satisfaction'
I'm open to music of all times and types, but haven't connected with 50s songs, yet--Though, if Keith Richards was as inspired as he seems to have been by Chuck Berry, I guess I get the rewards of what Berry inspired in performers I like.
I should've pasted your entire message, sorry! It was interesting and even enlightening, if enlightenment and confusement can coexist. I never hear Chuck Berry or Little Richard on the radio. Fleetwood Mac are still on the radio all the damn time with all the same damn songs,- so, I think maybe they've culturally had a more enduring legacy than Chuck Berry or Little Richard, but maybe you meant without CB or LR, FM wouldn't have had the chance to make a larger impact than their elders?
I know that you know what you're talking about, so don't think I'm disputing you.
Maybe the people that you mentioned were the initial architects, and that's the point I missed? But their buildings (the songs) don't seem to be standing anymore, so could the later generations-- The Stones, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac and beyond- u2? - be the ones who have left the enduring monuments that now have surpassed and outlasted what I not generously called the "quaint" foundation?
Oh, and KISS sounds the same way KISS has always sounded- Like sh*t!! :)
They were all about makeup, light shows, smokebombs, warped showmanship, impressive codpieces and a massive tongue. I don't have anything against any of those things! Or against them, even. KISS endured a long time, so they had something people liked.
You initially asked if Fleetwood Mac could compare to any of the people on your shortbread. shortstack. shorthairs.
NO, SHORTLIST, that's it!
I think that nobody is as good as The Stones were, they're "it" for me, even more than Fleetwood Mac.
But they don't have a Ledge!
Goodnight, Sir. "Yie-yie- yie- yie"*-- that's 50s music... Hate that song.
*that's called 'Little Darling", maybe?

[Zombie]

Nikolaj -

Whether individuals feel like something still "stands up" today isn't quite the point, in my opinion. You might not hear a Chuck Berry song on the radio as often as you hear "Go Your Own Way," but his influence on rock music as a whole cannot be denied. I mean, they don't call Chuck Berry the father of rock n' roll for no reason - he was one of the pioneers, from lyric structures to guitar licks that are now standards to stage presence.

Without people like him, we wouldn't HAVE much of the music we each now treasure in our own ways. You don't have to personally enjoy the music to be able to acknowledge and appreciate the influence and reach it has had, but I do feel like not acknowledging that influence or reach is a big no-no. That IS an enduring legacy. It will last far past the time he's dead, and far past the time all of those musicians he influenced and that came after him are dead, because he helped lay the foundation, and everyone else keeps on building.

I mean, if we rely solely on current radio airplay, Justin Bieber should go straight to the head of the line, and I don't know about you, but I'd personally rather slam my head in a door than see that happen.

Also, Chuck Berry still sells out venues at the young age of 83. I'm willing to bet not all of those seats are occupied only by people in their 80s, so his music is still touching people even after his heyday and even if they're not hearing it on the radio constantly. :thumbsup:

[Nikolaj]

^
Great points, Zombie! I agree- with both you and i.a.n.a.
Without those who gave us the roots of r&r, we could be- as Martin Scorcese once said, still be listening to music with the 'quality' of 'How Much Is That Doggie In The Window' which he said was his grim background while growing up until rock really exploded-- I like how MS has used Stones music in several films of his, then paid them back by directing the 'Shine A Light' documentary.

[jaycee]

Oh...and jaycee, Frank Zappa IS in already....doubt that the entire MOI would get in.

I was expecting someone to quip that. :D Anyway, the albums Frank Zappa made with TMOI (like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freak_Out!) were highly original and influential in many ways, and worthy (well, beyond worthy) of inclusion in the Hall Of Fame. It would be like crediting Lou Reed without The Velvet Underground.

[Hawkeye]

I really don't see the big deal about Little Richard or Elvis being the "firsts" to do what they did. If they don't eventually somebody else would've. Don't include them with the list of indictees that are somehow elevated above future inductees including but not limited to Fleetwood Mac.

I mean Elvis just ripped off much more talented black musicians anyway. The original Hounddog is the best example of him ruining a song. Like Nikolaj has already pointed out, the artists who emerged roughly 1962-64ish were trailblazers in making signifigant, memerable, truly great rock and roll, not just the first to "get that ball rolling" which is really what iamnotafraid, Chili and probably tens of thousands out there tend to overly glorify.

[iamnotafraid]

I mean Elvis just ripped off much more talented black musicians anyway. The original Hounddog is the best example of him ruining a song. Like Nikolaj has already pointed out, the artists who emerged roughly 1962-64ish were trailblazers in making signifigant, memerable, truly great rock and roll, not just the first to "get that ball rolling" which is really what iamnotafraid, Chili and probably tens of thousands out there tend to overly glorify.

In this politically correct world the sentiment "Elvis ripped off more talented
black musicians" gets a lot of play. It's a result of our over the top correctness
to make sure that since Elvis was white he shouldn't get the credit he deserves.
If you had read or listened to as many interviews that Elvis gave throughout his
short life as I have, you'd find out he always gave credit where credit was due.
But you won't find that true from many black artist the other way around. And
that's due to pure bitterness and jealousy.

And to say Elvis ripped off blacks musicians almost gives him more credit
than just his own musical genius. So he was clever enough as a teenager to plot
out "you know when I'm 18 years old I'm going to steal all the best black music
and make it my own. And I'm going to add other influences like Country & Western
mixed with a little bit of Gospel. And then get Sam Phillips of Sun Records to record
it for me. It should only take about two years for a big record company like RCA
to pick me up as an artist. And I'll change the world...

John Lennon said "before Elvis there was nothing". That might be a little over
the top, but those artist from the 50's are the foundation of rock. And Elvis is
the cornerstone.

[LukeA]

Laura Nyro is one of my favorite singers, but she is far from rock. I say good luck to Alice.

She gets in for "Wedding Bell Blues" alone.

[estranged4life]

And, until LEON RUSSELL gets in, NOBODY should go in...nobody deserves to be in the R&RHoF more than Leon

I got your back on this one brutha...

Leon is an Oklahoma institution (As much as Woody Guthrie, Roger Miller, Charlie Christian, Wanda "The QUEEN of Rock" Jackson, Pattie Page and many other talented Oklahomans in music are considered), and if the Crock & Blow Hall of Sham doesn't see it, then to hell with 'em...keep on being a glorified tourist attraction moreso than a real hall of fame such as the ones in Canton & Cooperstown.

At least us Oklahomans honor our own, as Leon is a 2006 inductee into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in my hometown of Muskogee:

http://www.omhof.com

Oh, and on November 12th Leon is playing the BOK Arena with Sir Elton John, wanna guess who will get the bigger ovation that night, Sorry Sir Elton....The admission would be worth it just to hear Leon possibly do his signature version of "the Rainbow Station" 97.5 KMOD's (Before it became a Clear Channel crap station) former title track "Somewhere Over the Rainbow".

Edit: and if funk/hip hop artists are allowed into THAT hall (Which should be more accurately titled "The Music Hall of Fame"), then how about ANOTHER Oklahoma legendary group, from the legendary GREENWOOD District of Tulsa ( http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/G/GR024.html ) The Gap Band: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gap_Band

For the record, the Gap Band invented the who 'izzle fanizzle' thing on a track back in the late 70's/early 80's, long before Snoop Dog was even around...Their classic "You Dropped a Bomb on Me" is the B-O-M-B!!!! Thank God, my Mom liked funk music.

[Heartboy]

Where the hell are Stevie, Linda Ronstadt & Heart? enough said.:rolleyes:

[ButterCookie]

Where the hell are Stevie, Linda Ronstadt & Heart? enough said.:rolleyes:

In there with some of the other members of Fleetwood Mac? :shrug:

[Heartboy]

In there with some of the other members of Fleetwood Mac? :shrug:

She deserves to be in there as a solo artist! just sayin'!:thumbsup:

[ButterCookie]

She deserves to be in there as a solo artist! just sayin'!:thumbsup:

In that case, so does Debbie Harry.

Oh wait, no.

[DefDumbandBlond]

I can't think of anyone offhand in the R&R Hall of Fame that are in there both with their group and solo anyways.

[Heartboy]

In that case, so does Debbie Harry.

Oh wait, no.

Nope, Debbie hasn't had much of a success as a solo artist.:eek:





** ***RUNS*****

[ButterCookie]

Exactly. She's not changed the world as a solo artist and neither has Stevie. As memebers of their respective bands, they both changed musical history. Ergo, neither really deserve to be inducted as solo artists.

You see?

[DefDumbandBlond]

Nope, Debbie hasn't had much of a success as a solo artist.:eek:





** ***RUNS*****

Yeah, I wouldn't consider having her first solo album going gold very successful, among other songs top hits on dance charts etc. :cool:

[chiliD]

I can't think of anyone offhand in the R&R Hall of Fame that are in there both with their group and solo anyways.

Eric Clapton...he's in THREE times.

Yardbirds
Cream
solo

[chiliD]

I really don't see the big deal about Little Richard or Elvis being the "firsts" to do what they did. If they don't eventually somebody else would've. Don't include them with the list of indictees that are somehow elevated above future inductees including but not limited to Fleetwood Mac.

I mean Elvis just ripped off much more talented black musicians anyway. The original Hounddog is the best example of him ruining a song. Like Nikolaj has already pointed out, the artists who emerged roughly 1962-64ish were trailblazers in making signifigant, memerable, truly great rock and roll, not just the first to "get that ball rolling" which is really what iamnotafraid, Chili and probably tens of thousands out there tend to overly glorify.

You don't know WTF you're talking about. "Overglorify", my ass. No Elvis, No Beatles...simple effing equation. Artists of the '60s, trailblazers? BS, the trail was already paved by the time the 60s came along...yeah, they widened the trail and developed it, but it was already there. There WAS no trail for Elvis, Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, et al...they MADE it.

Same f-ing logic...if the Beatles or Stones didn't come along, somebody else would've as well...you can draw the line all the way down the chronology to Eminem....if any of those people didn't come along, somebody else would've. Even go backwards...if JS Bach didn't, then somebody else would've....Beethoven? Brahms? Gershwin? Bernstein? Robert Johnson? Muddy Waters? BB King? Doesn't matter.

Elvis was the FIRST R&R KING...I don't give a crap if he was just rippin' off black artists...he made R&R palletable for us honkys...live with it...it's a f-ing historical fact.

[ButterCookie]

Eric Clapton...he's in THREE times.

Yardbirds
Cream
solo

Yeah but, Clapton is God :D

[Heartboy]

Yeah, I wouldn't consider having her first solo album going gold very successful, among other songs top hits on dance charts etc. :cool:

You know, I agree with you both & LOVE Debbie & think she deserves way more credit for her great career. I just like to tease you girls! :D:xoxo:

[Heartboy]

Yeah but, Clapton is God :D

& Stevie is the QUEEN!! :blob2::blob1::wavey::thumbsup::lol::):shocked:

[chiliD]

Yeah but, Clapton is God :D

Yep...I'm still waiting for Blind Faith & Derek and the Dominos to be inducted, too. :laugh:

[ButterCookie]

& Stevie is the QUEEN!! :blob2::blob1::wavey::thumbsup::lol::):shocked:

I'll assume you don't know the reasoning behind the whole 'Clapton is God' thing?

And last time I checked, The Queen was livin' it large down south in an actual castle :shrug:

[Heartboy]

I'll assume you don't know the reasoning behind the whole 'Clapton is God' thing?

And last time I checked, The Queen was livin' it large down south in an actual castle :shrug:

Because he's great...I don't know!

Where did the sayin' 'Queen of Rock & Roll' come from then?


If I'm some kind of idiot to you, you've made your point.

[chiliD]

Because he's great...I don't know!

Where did the sayin' 'Queen of Rock & Roll' come from then?


If I'm some kind of idiot to you, you've made your point.

Ok, the backstory...when Clapton was in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, graffiti around London started popping up "Clapton Is God". The most famous photo of such graffiti has a retriever pissing on it. (see below)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BP2JgWqNkKQ/SxUXtxma_6I/AAAAAAAABFs/S4oQmmfSveY/s1600/clapton-is-god-788339.jpg


"Queen Of Rock & Roll"....for a LONG time that title was given to Little Richard (since his gender preference wasn't a real secret even for the '50s)

[estranged4life]

Reality Check: Why The Hell Is There a Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame In The First Place?

http://www.theaquarian.com/2010/10/06/reality-check-why-the-hell-is-there-a-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-in-the-first-place/

—by James Campion, October 6, 2010

“Boys, I’m not gonna go on and on about this ****ing spirit ****. I’ll talk about the blues and influences and how I dig you guys and bing-bam-boom, I’ll be out of there. It’s just ****ing rock n’ roll, after all.”
- Keith Richards to the members of ZZ Top backstage at the 2004 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Committee (whatever the hell that is), has seen fit to nominate Alice Cooper, sixteen years after his, or if you prefer the band to the character, its eligibility. This makes what is already an abject mockery of what even the most casual observer of the genre would consider downright silly. For those of us who cherish its everlasting effect on our souls, it is an insult. After all, The Coop, an icon and creative pioneer in 1970s hard rock, is as influential to rock and roll history as Elvis Presley and his Caucasian-hijacking of an African-American invention is to the ‘50s, The Beatles and its image-driven cultural phenomenon is to the ‘60s, Madonna and her sexually-charged chameleon star-trip is to the 80s’, and the spit-in-the-face of all that is holy Nirvana in the ‘90s.

For several decades, Alice Cooper was a drunken, spiteful, sloppy, defiant, obscene, deafening burlesque freak show that cared less for anything healthy and decent than anyone or anything imaginable; or as he put it to me in this magazine last year, “You couldn’t have a rock and roll drama without a villain.” That, my friends, is rock and roll in a nutshell. Refusing to recognize that impugns any point of celebrating it.

****, anyone failing to list “School’s Out” in their Top Ten of most on-the-money rock and roll songs has no ****ing clue what the entire rock and roll trip is about; or more likely the case in the realm of the high-brow geeks running this vapid dog & pony show in Cleveland, got off the train with anything post-Traffic.

Turns out Cooper’s drinking buddy, Jim Morrison was right about handing the rebel stick over to the Madison Avenue suits and Hollywood posers who would likely render whatever erect pecker or moist pussy it manifested into a flaccid pole or dried up twat.

Keith Richards, the godfather of all that is modern rock and roll, and the man for whom even death recoils in horror, would concur. At least if you judge it from the look of a man who’d worked his ass off concocting an outlaw life of violent upheaval and massive substance abuse into gorgeous riffs of heavenly power only to be dumped in his waning years headlong into presenting goddamned ZZ Top to a bunch of gut-sagging, hair-thinned cretins posing as rock critics boozing beside the putrid gaggle of industry turds dressed for prom night.

Video evidence of the event shows Keith looking sick to his stomach and cackling like a hyena at the absurdity of his mission, and doing it right in the heavily-bearded faces of the band he was to induct into this laughing stock of an embalming center.

Keith and Jimmy Morrison knew what those of us who ever cared for rock and roll know; Alice Cooper is the real deal; whether the “keepers of the flame” deign to admit it or not. The Coop and his band kicked the ass and took the names to the tune of record numbers when they ruled the world, and there was a time when they sure as hell did. For a few years no one manipulated our wicked zeitgeist or exploited its most precious disgust better than Alice Cooper.

The only act that even comes close is Kiss. And guess what? Kiss has never even been nominated.

Kiss.

The biggest-selling live act in the history of rock and roll, which not only emerged full-fledged from the gloriously outlandish Alice Cooper excess-driven, shock-treatment womb, but also liberated the genre from its deadening artsy-fartsy, late-sixties to early-seventies jam-band, self-indulgence—predating the usually lauded Bruce Springsteen and the soon-to-seek vengeance of Punk.

Kiss is rock and roll, as much as Parliament is funk, the Bee Gees disco, Michael Jackson pop and Joni Mitchell folk, all of whom have already been inducted into this so-called hall of fame.

Kiss was, and stupefyingly still is theater, pomp and bombast; a distorted blitzkrieg offspring of a Jerry Lee Lewis piano assault, a Jimi Hendrix guitar fire, The Who’s instrumental auto-destruction, an Iggy Pop chest carving, and whatever crazy crap Peter Gabriel or Frank Zappa ever dreamed up. Grease paint, pyrotechnics, leather and juvenile odes to sex and mayhem are a recipe for rock and roll greatness, and yet for some reason it is trumped by The Pretenders, Fleetwood Mac, and REM—all acts I enjoy and certainly belong in whatever goofy palaver dinosaurs like Jann Wenner fabricate these days, but not at the exclusion of mother****ing Kiss.

I’m sorry, kids, nothing that aforementioned foursome produced approaches the anthemic core of the rock and roll gut like “Rock N’ Roll All Nite,” never mind the brilliant fist-pump of “Detroit Rock City.”

Recently a friend, while speaking of his time in Cleveland, asked if I’d visited the HOF museum. To which I followed with a twenty-minute diatribe culminating in the notion that any such asinine endeavor calling itself a rock and roll institution (whatever the hell that is) and claiming to celebrate those whose fame is worthy of its blessed enshrinement, but yet so completely incapable of seeing the worth and testament of titans like Kiss, is nothing I need to see. It’s akin to going to a pizzeria and getting served celery.

And let’s be honest, the entire concept of having a shrine or snobbish observance of rock & roll is antithetical to everything the damn art form stands for in the first place. Second, and most disturbing, is it confirms what purist caretaker Lester Bangs predicted and oft-times celebrated as its demise propagated by the over-intellectualizing arrogance of the “rock critic elite.”

Barely aware of the comings and goings of something as moronically feckless as a Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, I was unaware as recently as a week ago that neither Alice Cooper nor Kiss had been included, yet the very bands they helped launch, specifically Van Halen and AC/DC, waltzed in before them. This seemed beyond ludicrous, until I saw the roll call of acts that have preceded their groundbreaking, hit-making, record-smashing concert-receipt resume.

Metallica? Without Alice Cooper and Kiss, where is Metallica beyond a garage in suburban San Francisco? But then at least it’s a rock band, unlike folkie Pete Seeger, gospel queen Mahalia Jackson, soul master Curtis Mayfield, torch song goddess Billie Holiday, crooner Nat “King” Cole, country outlaw Johnny Cash, or for the sake of the Christ, The O’Jays, Jelly Roll Morton, Brenda Lee, Bill Willis & His Texas Playboys, or ****ing Bob Seger.

Bob ****ing Seger? What’s next Barry Manilow and Bread?

When Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers were playing backyard barbecues in Gainesville and Elvis Costello was learning to snarl with horn-rimmed glasses, Kiss was plowing through America and everywhere making nocuous rip-roaring cacophony—making movies, starring in comic books, and turning pop culture sideways.

Sorry if condescending scribes at the hippie journalists’ convention thumb their coke-addled noses at it, but Kiss stomped the terra without regret and didn’t beg your permission.

Oh, and this year’s nominees alongside the long-overlooked Alice and in place of Kiss? Dr. John, Beastie Boys, LL Cool J, Donavan, and Donna Summer.

I rest my case.

James Campion is the Managing Editor of The Reality Check News & Information Desk and the author of Deep Tank Jersey, Fear No Art, Trailing Jesus, and Midnight For Cinderella.

[iamnotafraid]

The Hall needs to be moved to MEMPHIS.

Cut out about half of the artist and they could
build the Hall II. And it would be better than
the one in Cleveland.

[tilthefirefades]

The hall of fame is obviously very flawed. I do think Stevie should be inducted solo, and I see no real evidence as to why not. She made a huge impact on the music industry, style, and women in rock. But so did Janet Jackson, and she hasn't been inducted yet either. Some great deserving artists are in, and some lolwut artists are too. So I don't really pay much attention to it, it's just another way for modern society to recognize amazing artists that they would have otherwise forgotten about for one night.

[DefDumbandBlond]

Unless the R&RHOF counts sub-genres of rock as well I don't see how some bands & artists have gotten in over the years. Last I checked LL Cool J wasn't rock, he's hip hop isn't he? Another hip hop/rap group that's in the R&RHOF is Run DMC but they did infuse rock into their music so I can understand that.

As much as I love Donna Summer she isn't exactly rock either with the majority of her music being disco/pop oriented. Still, I'm glad to see her nominated anyways. :lol: