The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Beclowns Itself (Again)
Latest inductees confirm everything wrong with Cleveland-based institution
Willie Nelson got an odd gift for his 90th birthday.
The country music legend learned he finally made the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame cut.
Huh?
Is there any sane argument against the singer/songwriter’s legendary status? Did the Hall’s voters need another year of Nelson above ground to finally say, “It’s time?” Did they miss his decades-worth of essential songs, tours and collaborations?
And, by the way, isn’t he a country singer, not a rock ‘n’ roller?
Absurd. All of it.
Then again, absurdity rules this Hall, which officially opened its doors in 1995. The institution is meant to honor rock legends, but through the years it’s welcomed acts whose songs soar beyond the “rock” category.
Think this year’s nominees, including Nelson, Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan and “Soul Train’s” Don Cornelius. Do any of those names scream, “rock” to anyone?
It gets worse.
Bon Jovi, the band that brought the song “Bad Medicine” into existence, is enshrined in the Hall but Iron Maiden isn’t. A more embarrassing case of exclusion comes via the so-called Pre-Fab Four.
The Monkees remain uninvited despite their outsized impact on pop music. The faux band became the real deal, reportedly outsold the Beatles at its musical peak and enjoyed musical rebirths in both the ’80s and mid-2010s.
Their wacky TV show built on the Beatles’ visual legacy and became a precursor to MTV.
And the songs! So many perfect pop moments – think “Last Train to Clarksville,” “Daydream Believer,” “Sometime in the Morning,” “I’m a Believer,” “Shades of Gray” and “Pleasant Valley Sunday.” Even the deep cuts count, and the band’s 2016 “Good Times” album delivered more essential tracks.
The same holds true for the Indigo Girls, a tireless duo with a string of killer tracks and albums. They’re one of the most beloved touring acts around, and yet they still stand outside the Cleveland Hall.
Warren Zevon, Soundgarden and Joy Division also await their induction, assuming it ever happens. Maybe Hall voters are waiting until they each turn 90, which hits Zevon the hardest since he passed in 2003 at the age of 56.
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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame chairman John Sykes accidentally summed up the institution’s irrelevance via this quote to Variety.
“Sometimes it takes a major moment like Willie’s 90th birthday or, in the case of Kate Bush, music being played in ‘Stranger Things’ to shine a light on them for a lot of younger people who didn’t know who she was in 1985; they probably weren’t even born yet.”
Good thing Nelson lived to be 90, otherwise his body of work might have gotten ignored.
Embarrassing.
The Baseball Hall of Fame is special, in large part, due to the brutal barrier to entry. Some of the best players of the modern era, including Curt Schilling and Don Mattingly, have yet to make the cut. The former’s political positions clearly play a role in his omission.
Other MLB giants excluded from the Hall include Lou Whitaker, Dale Murphy and Dwight Evans. That means getting a Hall pass means something significant to the culture and the sport.
The musicians who make the Hall cut? The honor means little in the long run. Perhaps that’s why we’ve seen inductee no-shows over the years, including three-fifths of Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Axl Rose and David Bowie.
To quote Bill Murray in the classic camp comedy “Meatballs” … it just doesn’t matter.
Kate Bush are you kidding,whom ever is in charge is either very prejudice toward certain types of music. The Village people are a house hold name so are the 5th Demention, Tom Jones the first to have his own show. Stephenwolf,Jethro Tull, Mountain,
Bette midler,and the biggest snub the monkees, who out sold the beatles
Supertramp?
10cc?
Poco?
I guess the hall never saw Joe Cocker?
The Rock and Roll hall of Fame is a joke, to have Dolly Pardon and Eminem, which I’m a big fan of both to be in the Hall of Fame and Rock Groups Foreigner and Styx haven’t even been considered, that makes the Rock and Roll hall of Fame a joke.
Joy Division/New Order or GTFO.
Just change the name to “The Center for Popular and Mediocre Music Makers.”
STEPPENWOLF
BAD COMPANY
BOSTON
No Little Feat!?!?
Amen!!! Why aren’t Little Feat in the RRHF??? And The Meters? And Johnny Rivers?
FRAMPTON!!
Neil Sedaka
How can you not have Jethro Tull, Kansas, Bad Company, etc., in, while “honoring” Missy Elliot? Willie Nelson? Ridiculous indeed. My guess is that politics is involved and at this point, the Hall is irrelevant. Being in Cleveland was a ridiculous place to house it too. Philadelphia is where it should have been placed. But who cares? Right?
and don’t forget foreigner
What about Nazareth and Wet Willie?
Alex Lifeson’s HOF acceptance speech should be required viewing for every rock music fan.
“Blah, blah blah. Blahblah blah blah blah. BLAH! Blah blah….”
Yeah, the article writer doesn’t even bother to fact check the false claim that the Monkees outsold the Beatles. That was a complete fabrication by Nesmith who explicitly told the interviewer he intended to lie to him. The interviewer printed the lie anyway and gullible people have been believing it ever since.
https://flashbak.com/in-1977-mike-nesmith-fooled-the-world-when-the-monkees-sold-more-records-than-the-beatles-and-rolling-stones-combined-386535/
Except: according to Billboard in 1967 the Monkees had four number one albums to the Beatles two and sold the most albums. If you’d read your own link the false claim from the interview was the Monkees outside the Beatles and Stones combined.
Fanny!
“They were extraordinary: they wrote everything, they played like motherfuckers, they were just colossal and wonderful, and nobody’s ever mentioned them, they’re as important as anybody else who’s ever been, ever; it just wasn’t their time.”
David Bowie
Right on, they played their asses off and rocked harder than most of the chumps they’d open up for. The HoF is an embarrassment to R&R, and shows what happens whenever any a**hole tries to use the energy of someone else’s sweat and heart for profit. Fanny deserves better than Cleveland.
JOE JACKSON!
The one that always get me is, The Meters are not in there. A lot of rappers and soul groups inspired by them however, they are not in there. I just don’t get it. Popularity contest I guess. Just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it’s great. Fugazi or Slayer will never be there either. Really….doesn’t matter to me. But still intriguing
dont blame Cleveland!!! blame the people who run the hall… they arent from Cleveland!!!
Exactly!
Yep, caught an Indians game there and toured the Cod, the pro football hof and the r’nr hof. The only one that disappointed was the r’n’r hof. And the people were very kind and welcoming. Very underrated aspect
Cleveland tolerates this fraud and abomination. I am boycotting Cleveland.