Every year, about this time, I rage like a moonbat about the insanity of the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame inductions. I’ve already run across dozens of pieces on the ‘net and Twitter. Then, while searching for a news story to post, there’s this
Chubby Checker, Outkast and the White Stripes Will Join the Rock Hall
Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Bad Company and Soundgarden — but not Oasis or Phish — are also part of the 40th anniversary class.
Also? Also for Joe Cocker and Bad Company? Chubby Checker definitely deserves to be there, but, to call Cocker and Bad Company are “also”? Bad Company should be the headline for the Rock N Roll HOF. And should have been in 20 years ago. Outkast has no business being in, just like so many non-Rock artists. It’s not that their not good (though, not my type of music), it’s that they are not rock.
Chubby Checker is finally joining the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 65 years after “The Twist” became a No. 1 hit and an international dance craze.
Checker, 83, who has campaigned for decades to be admitted to the pantheon — at one point taking out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine that said “I want my flowers while I’m alive” — is part of the 40th annual crop of performer inductees. He is joined by Joe Cocker, the White Stripes, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper, Bad Company and Soundgarden, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced on Sunday evening, after a Rock Hall-themed segment on ABC’s “American Idol.”
Checker, Cocker, Outkast and Bad Company were all accepted on their first nomination.
That Checker, Cocker, and Bad Company were never nominated is a travesty. Kool and the Gang? Mary J Blige? Missy Elliot? Dolly Parton? Eminem? Jay Z? And so many more? Not rock. Country. Hip Hop. Rap. Not rock. Heck, there are plenty of rock acts that really should not be in there. Ones who are good, but, not HOF worthy.
Heck, the Times doesn’t even really talk about the inductees except Checker. Sorry, but, Bad Company is the biggest name this year
Other nominees who didn’t make the cut include Mariah Carey, the Black Crowes, Billy Idol, the Mexican rock band Maná and the linked British groups Joy Division and New Order.
Mariah doesn’t belong in it. Billy does. Black Crowes? Meh. But, without Iron Maiden, the whole thing is a joke. Without Motorhead (not my favorite, but, no one can overstate their influence), Thin Lizzy, King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Motley Crue, Boston, Blue Oyster Cult, and so many others, the HOF is a joke. Judas Priest is in their as a performing artist, but, not as an artist, the main category. That’s absurd.
Private groups can hand out as many make-believe awards as they like, for whatever reason they like
Like the bartender in “It’s a wonderful life” hitting the cash register, “LOOK, I’M GIVING OUT WINGS”.
The real awards for rock stars is they got paid to live like rock stars. They all know who they are and who deserves to be numbered among them. Acknowledgement by a group of never-weres means nothing to them.
The criteria for nomination by the Nomination Committee are:
The nominating committee appears to have the final say on who is eligible.
What qualifies as good music is personal. Obvioiusly, the committee has long used a loose interpretation of Rock and Roll, including R&B, pop, soul, blues and other. They’ll likely start including “new” country, which sounds more and more like 50s rock.
They exclude most C&W stars unless they reach a broader audience, for example, incredible and versatile singer-songwriters like Johnny Cash and Dolly Parton. The same with most hip-hop, much of which I dislike, but the genre has clearly influenced Rock & Roll. It appears they put up one rap act per year.
But no Jethro Tull? That’s a travesty. And the admittedly great Tom Waits is in, but the just as great John Prine is not? His tale about Paradise, KY is the perfect song.
The Country Music HOF has several crossover artists: Elvis, Waylon Jennings, Cash, Parton, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Daniels Band, Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Glen Campbell, Everly Brothers, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller, Hank Williams Sr…