The Rock Hall Induction Committee Steps Into It Again

Today the Rock And Hall Induction Committee announced their list of finalists for the 2010 Class for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and as we say year in, year out….What were they thinking?

The finalists are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Kiss, Genesis, The Stooges, Donna Summer, ABBA, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, The Chantels, The Hollies, and Jimmy Cliff.

I would like to know. Which member of the Induction Committee stood up and argued as the advocate for ABBA? Seriously!

Can we see some problems here?

By looking at the list, you can almost imagine the conversations in the room when you see a Genesis alongside Donna Summer or Kiss next to Darlene Love or The Hollies beside LL Cool J. Each of these artists have someone nominate them, argue for them and make deals to get them on that final list. “I’ll vote for Kiss if you vote for ABBA.”. Is this the way an artist should be honored?

By looking at the list and seeing Genesis (eligible since 1993 and first time on ballot), Kiss (eligible since 1999 and first time on the ballot), The Hollies (eligible since 1989 and again first time on ballot) it is like they said amongst themselves “We better put some classic rock bands on the list or we’ll get crucified in the press again.” Dave Marsh, a member of the Induction committee, was quoted last year about Kiss “Kiss is not a great band, Kiss was never a great band, Kiss never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot.” Then when pressed on the Kiss issue by City Scoops Magazine he responded by email “I oppose Kiss because I think it was a shitty rock band, not worthy of induction. What else is there to say?”

Then why are they on the ballot now Dave?

You know what Gene Simmons response was? “There are disco bands, rap bands, Yiddish folk song bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but not Kiss. I believe we have more gold records in Americathan any other group, but it’s OK.”

No it’s not Gene. (Bear’s Note: As my readers know, I am not a huge Kiss fan, I like a couple of songs but to not acknowledge their impact on music in general is a travesty)
Little Steve Van Zandt of The E Street Band and a member of the Induction Committee in the new issue of Rolling Stone is quoted as saying “There's dozens and dozens of early rock & roll groups that should be in. I notice a bias toward the post-art-form rock critics' sensibility as opposed to the pre-art-form rock & roll sensibility. That's why I had so much difficulty getting the Rascals and the Dave Clark Five in. We'll probably never get Paul Revere and the Raiders in. Anybody who didn't eventually get into Important Personal Lyrics is not regarded seriously. It's very difficult for me to justify the Talking Heads being in the Hall of Fame before the Hollies, or Michael Jackson being in before Johnny Burnette.

Now there’s some insight into the process folks!

It is like they are trying to placate us by throwing us a bone here folks. Don’t get overexcited by seeing Kiss or Genesis, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, or The Stooges being on this list. Remember in the end, they don’t have to vote for them and only 5 of these bands will get in. So throwing us the bone now maybe lessens the blow later when we see Donna Summer get it.

As Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee Madonna put it so clearly when she learned she was inducted "I heard about it and I kind of felt ambivalent, like, 'What is that, the place they put musical dinosaurs?' ".

Committee Members and Rock Hall Voters….Nice Job! This is who you honor by putting them into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

Last spring we did a poll on http://www.clevelandrockandroll.com/ (here is the link for the archived story http://clevelandrockandroll.blogspot.com/2009/03/votes-are-in-readers-vote-on-hall-of.html) and the Top 10 bands the fans wanted to see inducted were Rush, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Kiss, Genesis, Doobie Brother, Heart, Jethro Tull, ELO, Cheap Trick. You know what they all have in common, not one disco song among them!

Looking at this list and based on the past voting here’s how I see the Class Of 2010. LL Cool J, Donna Summer, Jimmy Cliff, The Stooges and The Chantels. Next in line would be the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

No Genesis, No Hollies and it seems if Dave Marsh has his way NO KISS!

Sad is all I can say, hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. The real rock fans just don’t seem to matter.

Maybe next year Stevie Ray……..

Nuff said, least till next time
Peace Out
Bear

The Votes Are In. The Readers Vote On The Hall Of Fame

The results are in, and you spoke loud and clear.

I can say one thing. The readers of clevelandrockandroll.com are passionate for their favorites and especially who they don't like.

The race for "Who Should Be In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame But Isn't" was close to the end, but a last minute surge this past week gave us our winner.

RUSH.....with 22% of the vote. The readers have voted Rush into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame!!! Okay we know the Rock Hall is not going to put them in based on your votes but maybe some of the real voters will listen to you, the music fans, next year.
Now for the results and some of your comments.

1st Place.....Rush (346 votes)
.....Until reading this, I thought they were already in the Hall Of Fame. How can they not be - (Russ from Canton)
.....Best band to ever come out of Canada! Really how many great bands come out of Canada! - (Bob from Toronto)
.....Geddy Lee's voice alone should have this great band in the hall. - (Sue from Buffalo)

2nd Place.....Stevie Ray Vaughn (321 votes)
.....Stevie Ray is considered one of the greatest guitar players ever. Wake up voters - (Tom from Cleveland)
.....Top 3 if not the #1 guitarist ever. This is a no brainer. - (Steve from Atlanta)
.....Better than Hendrix, better than Clapton, better than everyone. Why is he overlooked? - (Tim from Akron)

3rd Place.....Kiss (234 votes)
.....Kiss not in? I didn't even know that. The biggest band in the 70's and they are not in? - (Tom from Euclid)
.....Gene Simmons is hated by the music world for how he marketed Kiss. That can be the only reason they are not in. - (Marcy from Columbus)
.....The biggest, baddest, rocking band of my generation! KISS. (Mark from Parma)

4th Place.....Genesis (176 votes)
.....Come on, they could be put in twice for the Peter Gabriel era and then the Phil Collins era. Two totally different bands but both great. - (Ron from Cleveland)
.....I can see why they don't put them in for the music they made with "Invisible Touch" and "We Can't Dance" but the work they did when Peter was in the band was magic.- (Ray from Hinckley)
.....In their early years they were one of the top prog groups on the scene. They have to be in. - (Thomas from New York)

5th Place.....Alice Cooper (149 votes)
.....Alice was theatric rock at it's best. - (Bill from Las Vegas)
.....Are you sure Alice Cooper is not in? - (Kathy from Solon)
.....Schools Out, an anthem for a generation. That alone should be enough. - (Sam from Cleveland)

6th Place.....Doobie Brothers (92 votes)
.....One of the biggest bands of the 70's. Come on voters! - (Bill from Lakewood)
.....Great vocals, great musicians, what more do these voters need? - (Tom from Toledo)

7th Place.....Heart (87 votes)
.....Ann and Nancy taught everyone what a hard rockin female band should sound like. - (Bridgett from Cleveland)
.....They changed my idea what a rock band should look and sound like. - (Bob from Eastlake)

8th Place.....Electric Light Orchestra (85 votes)
.....They made a whole new sound in rock.- (Nancy from Avon Lake)
.....The ultimate rock orchestra. (Jeff from Marrietta)

9th Place.....Jethro Tull (81 votes)
.....Who would have thought a band with a frontman with a flute would be rock legends. I do. (Dave from Houston)
.....I was shocked to look it up and see they were not in. How is this possible. - (Carol from Willoughby)

10th Place.....Cheap Trick (76 votes)
....."At Budokan" defined what a live band should sound like. - (Marcus from Cleveland)
.....Unique, no one was like them. - (Jim from Cleveland)

On the flip side "Who Should Be Thrown Out Of The Hall Of Fame" had a runaway winner!

MADONNA with 72% of the vote (692 votes)
.....The hall lost all credibility with putting her in. - (Karen from Parma)
.....It made me sick. - (Alan from Cleveland)
.....What's next Brittany Spears? - (Tim from Lorain)
.....A JOKE!!!! - (Randy from Chicago)
.....They took a great thing like the ROCK HALL and made it a joke. - (Brett from Cleveland)

2nd Place.....Michael Jackson (183 votes)
.....The self proclaimed King Of Pop has become a world wide joke. - (Sarah from Cleveland)
.....When he was voted in, I stopped caring. - (Ryan from Canton)

3rd Place.....Earth Wind And Fire (73 votes)
.....No rock at all here. - (Mike from Medina)
.....Disco? Disco? Did the voters in 2000 think they were running out of great rock bands to vote for? - (Brian from Boston)

4th Place.....Run DMC (61 votes)
.....I didn't even know who they were except for one song. Should that put you in the Hall Of Fame. That's like putting a baseball player in the Hall of Fame for hitting one home run in his career. - (Jim from Akron)
.....One song with Aerosmith does not make a career. - (Mike from Tremont)

5th Place.....Grandmaster Flash (38 votes)
.....Why voters, why. No good rock bands left? - (Bob from Hudson)
.....Another example of record company hacks voting for what they think is cool instead of what's good. - (Mike from Independence)

You spoke readers, maybe they will listen to you next year.

Nuff said, At least until next week
Peace Out
Bear