Maybe Someone Should Step Up . . .

 . . . and do this thing correctly. Because the people (Rolling Stone Magazine, basically) who run the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are clearly in some distant, fog-shrouded world of their own. Sure, they've inducted many artists who, without question, deserve to be there, but there are a few you could argue probably shouldn't be - or least shouldn't be in there ahead of some who should have been inducted long ago. And other crazy stuff, like the fact Brian Epstein is only just now making it as an inductee in the non-performers category (class of 2014). Hello RRHOF!!! He probably should have been brought in the same year, or shortly thereafter, as The Beatles, for crying out loud . . .

So here are the basic rules for performers, directly from the Hall's website: 

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.  

The Foundation's nominating committee selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 600 artists, historians and members of the music industry.

So let's take a few moments and look at a couple of examples. Deep Purple has been eligible for something like 21 years, and they have been nominated twice; Metallica was inducted in 2009 in their first or second year of eligibility. With lineup changes both bands have been around for years, Deep Purple forming in 1968 while Metallica formed in 1981, and each have sold over 100 million records. Now remember the rule above about "influence and significance of the artists' contributions?" I can almost guarantee that the two lead guitarists who have played with Metallica, at some point in their learning process, just had to learn that very famous riff from Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." And to this day it is a riff a lot of guitarists still want to learn when they start playing electric guitar. If that one riff from Richie Blackmore isn't an "influence on the development and perpetuation of rock and roll," I just don't know how else to define it. Though I don't have any evidence, I'd also be willing to bet that when the guys in Metallica were starting out playing in cover bands, they probably banged out a little Deep Purple along the way. Metallica in the Rock and Roll Hall before Deep Purple? The clear verdict can only be a emphatic "No!"

The Moody Blues have been recording and performing since 1967, have 13 top 40 hits, and have sold tens of millions of records. They have been eligible for the RRHOF for 25 years and have yet to be nominated. Not even once. Blondie, on the other hand, has sold about half as many records and were inducted in 2006 on their first nomination after just four years of eligibility. Yes, that Blondie, the same new wave/punk band whose biggest hit was . . . a disco tune called "Heart of Glass"???!!! This kind of crap simply does not make sense. Who is doing the thinking in Cleveland?

In: The Ramones, The Clash, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, The Sex Pistols, Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Guns 'n Roses (WTF?), Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Stooges (someone's idea of a joke?), KISS.

NOT In: Jethro Tull, The Cars, Emerson Lake and Palmer, The Doobie Brothers, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, King Crimson, Yes, Steppenwolf, Roxy Music, Warren Zevon, Jim Croce, Bad Company, Chicago, and so many others who are are just as - if not more - deserving than some who are already in the Hall.

Seriously, a show of hands: How many of you have heard of Jethro Tull, but have not heard of The Stooges (and no, we're not talking Larry, Moe, and Curly Joe here)?



I'm not saying that some of the "ins" shouldn't be there, it's the glaring lack of respect shown by the nominating committee to performers who have long, productive histories, and have had a clear impact on rock music in general.

And what of my beloved prog?

Outside of Genesis, Rush, and Pink Floyd, Progressive Rock is otherwise completely ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (one could make a strong case that Genesis, though the induction included Peter Gabriel, were brought in largely because of what they accomplished after PG left the band and they took on a more pop-oriented style). Keith Emerson (Emerson Lake and Palmer) probably had more to do with the popularization of music synthesizers than any other rock artist. From about 1973 to 1977, with the exception of Led Zeppelin, no band on the planet sold more concert tickets worldwide than ELP (19 years of eligibility, not a sniff from the nominating committee). Steve Howe from Yes was the first guitarist retired from Guitar Player Magazine's readers poll for the "Year's Best Guitarist" because he won so many times consecutively, and, of course, the band filled arenas worldwide for many years (one nomination in 20 years). There are bands like King Crimson that have been around since the 60s, have sold lots of records and concert tickets, and, while Robert Fripp may not be a household name, most rock guitarists know him to be one of the best. Compared to Punk and New Wave, genres that are all but dead these days, Prog Rock continues with many legendary artists still performing and new bands being formed. But Prog has NEVER gotten any respect from Rolling Stone (I wouldn't be terribly surprised if most of the nominating committee members think "Prog" is the Czech capital . . . )

And what is it with Rap and Hip Hop artists in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I realize they are extremely popular forms of music, but are those genres, by definition, "Rock?" Do we consider them an offshoot of R&B or Soul?

Truth be told, after perusing the list of inductees, I have decided that the name should be changed to either "The Pop Music Hall of Fame" or "The Rock and Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame." Those names would be a more accurate reflection of what the current hall represents. Because right now it is a hodge-podge of performers from different genres placed in the hall by a misguided nominating committee . . .