2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

Today was that day that all of us Rock Hall Watchers got together and took to social media, unlike many times of the year. Actually, the list was leaked by Future Rock Legends (FRL) yesterday, but I'm one that goes with the official thing. You got famous people and various who regularly criticize the institution. Us RHWs were excited, shocked, disappointed, curious, and any other word I can insert. A lot of us felt bad for those who were snubbed (first time and again), but hey it's the way the ball rolls. Of my seven predictions, I got three right (Doobies, Whitney, NIN). Let's start with the positive: I would say this is one of the most diverse classes ever. All of these acts have little to no connection with another, or so I believe. You have artists representing different genres: 80s synth-pop/industrial-alternative/hip-hop/pop diva-R&B/classic rock/glam rock. What's not to like besides the number of those inducted?

Your 2020 Inductees:

Depeche Mode-The Doobie Brothers-Whitney Houston-

Nine Inch Nails-The Notorious B.I.G.-T. Rex

Here are some observations. Some are my own, some have been by others:

- Six inductees, plus two outside the Performers category. The plus side of this is there weren't just five, like there has been in some previous years. Six is fine, but more would be awesome. I'll get into the two later on...

- Depending on how you look at it, this is the first post-60's class ever. Not a single one of these acts charted a hit or an album before 1970 in the United States. Notice the last four words - however, T. Rex (as Tyrannosaurus Rex) cracked the UK chart beginning in 1968.

- Half of the vocalists of this class are deceased. Most of us already know who, but I'll run it down anyway: Marc Bolan, lead singer of T. Rex, died in a car crash in 1977; the Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down during the spring of 1997; and Whitney Houston died in 2012. Obviously, we'll definitely have to expect great tributes from these artists that inspired so many. We're not sure who will be at the ceremony in May, but it will possibly sure bring attention to those who are not in the Rock Hall, if you know what I mean.

- Other deceased members of this class include Steve Currie and Mickey Finn of T. Rex (Bill Legend is the only surviving member of the group). Keith Knudsen and Michael Hossack are also deceased, as they will be inducted with the Doobie Brothers.

- Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails both got in on their third appearance on the ballot.

- Depeche Mode and T. Rex are the only British acts this year to be inducted.

- The Notorious B.I.G. will be the 7th rap/hip-hop act to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

- On a personal note, I have seen two of these acts live...which will automatically be added to my "Rock Hall artists/bands I've Seen" list: Nine Inch Nails in 2005, and I caught The Doobie Brothers last year when they toured with Santana. I hope I get to catch them this year on their tour with Michael McDonald returning. Which brings me to...

- I'm gonna be biased again, but it is great to see another artist from the St. Louis area inducted into the Rock Hall: Michael McDonald grew up in Ferguson, Missouri. One of my musician friends knew him well growing up and he has told me great stories about Michael. STL represent!

- Then of course, you got the negative part, which I'll get into shortly.

But first, I'll comment on the inductees:

- The Doobie Brothers. Easy prediction and rightfully inducted on their first try. Eligible for 23 years. Perfect timing, with their 50th anniversary tour, as I said in my last post. To me, this is the one act that represents the "classic rock" or "dad rock" part of the class.

- Whitney Houston. I think a lot of people really saw this one coming. (Timothy, if you are reading this, no I'm not just talking about you. LOL) I predicted her out of my "core five", just in case. But it will be a happy occasion as well as a great celebration of her long but seemingly short career, even after death.

- T. Rex. Honestly, I am kicking myself for not predicting them but I always stick to my "no regrets" thought, as at the time I thought they had so much competition on the ballot. Neil (aka "the FRL guy") reminded me and others that a lot of British inductees will vote them in, and golly they did. All of those years of patience finally paid off for old and new fans.

- The Notorious B.I.G. I've been proven wrong before several times, and this time around I've been proven wrong - twice! I didn't even predict Biggie Smalls on my Nominations list a few months ago, just because I saw him as no Tupac Shakur, plus I didn't see him getting in before a lot of other rap/hip-hop artists. But it happened. And it was an easy induction prediction for most people, except me and a few RHWs. I guess 2Pac and Biggie's legacies are similar after all, I guess I don't have a clue. But cheers. Had he been snubbed, I'm sure he would have waited several years to get inducted...but I'm glad we'll never know.

- Depeche Mode. I should have seen this one coming, as I didn't think it would be soon. (Blame the members of The Cure!) Either way, I'm glad an 80's new wave/synth-pop/alternative group is being inducted again, so I'm cool with that. I can't wait to do a tribute to them on my show when their time comes.

- Nine Inch Nails. Of all of them, I'm happy mostly for Trent Reznor. I don't know how long the NomCom would have let him stick around, but it's great that he doesn't have to wait anymore. On top of that, he will be getting enshrined in Cleveland, where be began and built his music career.

- Non-performers/Ahmet Ertegun Award: Irving Azoff and Jon Landau. I'll get to them later.

And now, for the Snubbed 2020 Nominees. This will result in negativity, here and there:

- As a lot have pointed out already, there will be no new women, as far as inductees, to vote for next year. Would have been cool to have Pat Benatar as one....

- The Fan Vote did not come into usefulness this year, for the first time ever. The Dave Matthews Band won the Rock Hall's Fan Vote, and Pat Benatar came in second. It goes without saying, nothing helped them. And I'll be the umpteenth person to say that the DMB broke the hot streak that went on for seven years.

- A lot of us were scratching our heads as far as the DMB, and we all drew our own conclusions to them. Mine was that Dave had a lot of personal connections with past inductees, who I thought would vote for him. Others saw him as a guy who shaped the music and touring industry, among other points.

- Alex Voltaire pointed out that Benatar's snub this year was probably the biggest news. I think all of us RHWs had her on our final induction predictions list. Maybe next year, Pat and Neil!

- Hard rock/metal, as a lot of us predicted, cancelled each other out. Motorhead, Judas Priest, MC5, Thin Lizzy.

- Kraftwerk, as a lot us see them as the most innovative act not in the Rock Hall, was snubbed again. This was their sixth time on the Nominations ballot, and now for (hopefully) lucky #7 next year. Pray to the spirit of your choice that they don't get inducted outside the "Performers" category.

- Same goes for MC5, as they may be nominated for the 6th time in the future.

- While a lot of us see Todd Rundgren as worthy over several people to get in the Rock Hall, he was snubbed again, not surprisingly. Maybe three times will be a charm?

- I'm gonna be honest: I know very little about Irving Azoff and Jon Landau as far as what they do in their roles behind the Rock Hall. Azoff is, of course, one of the most powerful figures in the music industry with Ticketmaster/Live Nation and all. Landau is another one of those guys who is long associated with Bruce Springsteen, and he was the head of the NomCom for a long time. As Neil from FRL pointed out, it makes the Rock Hall look bad when those two guys happen to be the Rock Hall Foundation's Board of Directors. Which brings me to....

- As everyone (including myself) has pointed out, the backlog has extended in not just the Performers section, but in the other categories as well. So many worthy candidates for Early Influence, Non-Performers, etc. But why those two, everyone keeps asking.

For now, I'll just leave it at that. It's always fun to see who will induct whom in the next three months. Not a doubt in my mind that Diddy (or whatever name he goes by now...) will induct Biggie. I'm thinking Clive Davis will induct Whitney. It's hard to say who will induct Trent Reznor and the Doobies at this point, so it's all up in the air. And what about that Singles category? (laughter inserted here)