Yep, it's me again...
It's May 12, and today was the announcement of this year's Rock Hall class. As I said in my last post on here, many of us Rock Hall watchers agreed Jay-Z, Carole King and Tina Turner would get in. Most predicted the Foos would as well. And all of that happened. The Rock Hall inducted six acts in the Performers category, and that was met with no disappointment (that I know of). (Sorry metal heads, Iron Maiden didn't get in!)
Amazingly, 13 acts were inducted. Hold up. Speaking for the RHW community, I believe we were all glad about the diversity of the whole thing - and by that I include the acts not on the non-Performers lists. This is where the excitement ended for me mostly, which I'll explain.
Some observations, commentary (good/bad/neither):
-There's really not much to say as far as Jay-Z, Carole, Tina, the Go-Go's or even the Foo Fighters as just about everyone expected they would get in right away. It's always easy to forget that King was first nominated as a solo artist back in 1989. That was 32 years ago! Or a big chunk of her life. It's also easy to forget her minor solo hits in the pre-Tapestry days such as "It Might as Well Rain Until September." I haven't read all the reactions from the artists themselves, but I can already tell you King was more than thrilled, no matter how long it took. Dave Grohl, too. I can't leave out the ladies of the Go-Go's either!
-As for the one mystery spot, that went to Todd Rundgren. He, like all the others, was long overdue though he wasn't very much on a lot of people's radars. I can talk about his legacy and career, but no need to. We all have our doubts that he will show up to the ceremony, but...you just never know. Maybe he can use this opportunity to vent and rant - kind of like pulling a Steve Miller but taking it to a different level. But then that would make him the Debbie Downer of it all, and no one wants that.
-By the way, the list that I published almost two years ago (The Top 100 Rock Hall snubs 1955-1989), four acts that were in my Top 10 are in the Rock Hall's Class of 2021. Well, one got backdoored, so....
-While I am glad all of the soon-to-be-enshrined acts are getting in, I really should be happy they are getting in one way or another. But, for a lot of different reasons, I'm not. And a lot of others may share my frustration and confusion (sure there's more words to sum it up...). I saw the inductees list a few hours after they were announced, and among the RHW community, it's safe to say it was met with mixed reception. Here we go....
-I'll start with Kraftwerk, which after six unsuccessful nominations is now being put into the "Early Influence" category. I know they were very innovative and one of the first experimental electronica groups in the world, blah blah blah, but it is sad they will not be in the company of the others in the "Performers" group. It's kind of like someone on the board said, "We tried, we failed, nobody in the hell knows who they are, so let's just do it ourselves...". And unfortunately, that's how I feel about...
-LL Cool J. Like Kraftwerk, Mr. Smith had six unsuccessful nominations in the last decade and this is what it all came down to. I get not everyone feels this way, but he deserves to be in the same company as Jay-Z, Run DMC, Beastie Boys and all the other rap/hip-hop acts. Instead, LL Cool J now gets the "Musical Excellence" award. I've been trying to understand more about the ME category for a while, and I can't really find a clear definition of it. I'm sure lots of people may just throw a line at me. You see, the "Musical Excellence" category originally started as the "Sidemen" category - at least that's what the Rock Hall's Wiki says. Many deserving "sidemen" got in (though some had front-man careers of their own, like Floyd Cramer) but by the 2010s that was all out the window, as acts like Ringo Starr, Nile Rodgers and the E Street Band were placed there. Not just performers, but people who mostly worked "behind the scenes" like Glyn Johns and Tom Dowd.
As I am writing this, I am seeing a tweet from journalist Keith Murray saying the "ME" category is like a participation trophy. Or more like, disrespect for the artist. Or the place they put you in if you can't get in the "standard way". But LL himself, according to a Billboard article where he was just interviewed on, seems to be more than thrilled and blessed, so I'm glad he's cool with getting in the Hall no matter what.
-Despite of my complaints about how they treated Kraftwerk and LL, I'm actually satisfied (not 100%, but I'll get into that...) about the others that were not placed in the "Performer" category.
- Billy Preston. He left behind a great legacy, and it was very criminal that he was never placed on a ballot, especially while he was alive. But I'm glad he's getting in. We all know that he had a successful career as a solo artist with hits like "Space Race" and "Nothing from Nothing", but today most people know him more as an all-around guy who contributed to others, especially the Beatles. The Musical Excellence Award (like I said, I'm still not sure what it all means but he was excellent in all musical ways) perfectly fits him.
- Randy Rhoads. Here's where all hard rock fans like Eddie Trunk will be happy. Last night, Trunk tweeted that he had a nice surprise in store for listeners about a legendary guitarist but had to keep most of it secret. (In all honesty, I'm actually surprised the Rock Hall let him in on something like that, knowing that he has criticized the organization a number of times) That's not to say that Rhoads wasn't talented, I mean, we all got rocked off our feet hearing all the riffs and solos in Ozzy's songs like "Crazy Train" and "Over the Mountain". The way I see it is, the chance of Ozzy Osbourne getting in solo is very low at this point, so this is the best way to include Rhoads in the Rock Hall family.
- Gil-Scott Heron. A man known for his contributions to the rap/hip-hop world, probably before those words were used to name that genre, fits right in in the "Early Influence" category.
- Charley Patton. So a lot of us are hung up on the naming of the "Early Influence" category (forgive me for overusing the c-word in this post!). I think it's safe to say that a lot of us RHWs saw the "EI" group as more as a pre-rock and roll era category, as several people from the early and development days (Jimmie Rodgers, Louis Jordan, Robert Johnson were fittingly placed here). Of course, that all changed when Wanda Jackson was put in that group in 2009. But in later years, the 5 Royales and Sister Rosetta Tharpe were put there. Patton is a perfect addition as his contributions to early 20th century music have been recognized.
- Lastly, Clarence Avant gets the Non-Performer honor, or the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Admittingly, I know very little about him but I just read his Wiki so he has a very impressive career thus far. (I promise to read up on him!) And he's 90 years old at the moment. Don't know how he is health-wise, but I hope he makes an appearance at the ceremony.
- As far as those who did not get in: like I always say, there's next year - and the year after that and so on. I do hope Dionne Warwick gets in while she's in her 80s. If we're lucky she'll get in at the same time as the Spinners. If we're very lucky, she'll get in with Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Devo still has plenty of time, as do the others. And yes, that means Chaka too.
So, that's that. I'm sure there's lots more to say but I'll just leave it. I guess a positive way of looking at it is I'll have plenty more acts to choose from when doing future nominee predictions lists 😀, now that most of them nobody can predict anymore. It's funny, the other day some of us (especially Neil the FRL guy) was talking about how the Rock Hall hasn't used the side categories in a number of years, or very rarely. Today, just about everyone was blown away how they were utilized (well, sort of). Well, I'm thinking now this will be a common thing now that there's a new person on top.
Now, for the exciting part: predicting who will induct whom, and SVZ's Singles picks! (okay, not really for the last one)
