Rock Hall Class of 2007
Monday January 8, 2007
The votes are in and the newest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are ...
- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
(Kid Creole, Cowboy, Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Mr. Ness, Raheim) - R.E.M.
(Bill Berry, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe) - The Ronettes
(Estelle Bennett, Ronnie Spector, Nedra Talley) - Patti Smith
- Van Halen
(Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth)
Rock Hall Foundation voters -- 600 in all -- voted for five of the nine nominees. The four who were nominated but not selected were Chic, Dave Clark Five, The Stooges and Joe Tex.
The new inductees will be formally installed at ceremonies March 12 in New York City.
Your thoughts? Comments on the new Rock Hall inductees are welcome here.
Comments
I can no longer take the Hall of Fame seriously. This year’s inductees are a joke. Until the real Rock and Roll legends are inducted, it’s just a politcally correct list, nothing more.
In my opinion, the Dave Clark Five should have gotten in the Hall of Fame years ago. It is sad to see acts such as Grandmaster Flash, REM, and the Ronettes get in before DC5. REM was a good band, but they came along way after DC5 and The Stooges. My votes for this years Hall inductees would have gone to Patti Smith, Van Halen, The Stooges, and The Dave Clark Five.
Hopefully next year KISS and Rush will finally get in the Hall.
Rap is not rock and roll. And country music is not jazz.
And yes, KISS and Rush and many others deserve to be in the Hall. ‘Nuff said.
Well, I’ve been been looking at the different bands that should be in the hall of fame but aren’t, and its ridiculous to see so many of them.
The Dave Clark Five
Rush
KISS
Chicago
John Mellancamp
Boston
The Cars
Heart
Cheap Trick
Foreigner
Eddie Money
George Thorogood
The RnR HOF shouldn’t induct so many acts every year. Its ludicrous. As most folks have already pointed out, the nominations are a joke. There are so many bands that can be added that it can’t be taken seriously today.
What about a band that started in 1968 and is still going today and continues to sell out crowds in Europe as well as the US. I’m talking about Yes. If nothing else Rick Wakeman as a solo artist should be inducted.
As usual, the nominations and the inductees are an insult to most sensible, logical music lovers and to the artists themselves. It’s a well known fact that certain important members of the nominating committee, “the 600,” are not fans of any progressive, experimental music. The only exception has been Pink Floyd, who got in because of their huge record sales and mammoth tours. To exclude the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, Yes, Genesis, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, ELP, Rush, Kansas, other rock acts such as Kiss, Chicago, Heart and others, including the Dave Clark Five, in favor of rap, jazz, country and folk artists is an insult. Blame it on Jann Wenner, publisher of Rolling Stone magazine and the other close-minded so-called music lovers who vote but who refuse to acknowledge the real rock acts who have shaped rock music in the last 40 years.
I can’t believe that the Dave Clark Five were left out! Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five…..I don’t think so…..
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame should be for those who are really the best of the best, and shouldn’t cave in to political correctness. I’ve always found it appalling how many bands are left off/never considered (see Doug C.’s comment). I feel the Dave Clark Five were an important part of the “British Invasion” of the early 1960’s, and should be recognized and honored. Having visited the the HOF nearly 2 years ago, it was kind of a disappointment – I expected more.
What a farce! From the nominations to the induction. RnR HOF could be such a tribute, as it should be, to Rock and Roll, not dico, jazz, rap,etc. Grandmaster Flash? Who the hell is that? Let’s put the real rockers in. The ones that have been doing it for 30 years. The ones that helped shape Rock and Roll. Why don’t we go ahead and put in Tupac and 50 Cent and Sheryl Crow and anybody else who happens to come along. Apparently there is no entrance requirements. I am sure that Led Zeppelin and the Beatles would be so proud to be associated with the inductees of the last few years.
It is surely NOT my Hall of Fame
My Hall would definately include the DC5, The Moody Blues, John Lee Hooker, Canned Heat, Donovan, Genesis, Procol Harum, Ten Years After, Tull, Yes, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker and The Small Faces.
PETER GABRIEL
since the emergence of bob dylan and rock journalism in the late 1960,s critics focus was more on lyrics than music not suprising since words are the journalists tools. however regardless the importance of lyrics it is the way the music makes you feel more than anything else that drives this music. social and historical agendas aside i can still feel the enormous rush of hearing johnny winter and live; thundering drums and the sheer raw power of winters and derringers guitars coming at you in waves with an unpredictability of emerging forms. a time at the dawn of underground radio before mass sponsorship when there seemed endless possibilities. the artists that embodied this should be the ones that we nominate the stooges rory gallagher and edgar winter white trash and endless others who never get played.
Some of the inductees are a joke every year. How about:
Dave Clark Five
The Guess Who
The Moody Blues
Alice Cooper
Status Quo
What the hell is the requirement for induction anyway ?
Grandmaster Flash ?????
What about Alice Cooper ? He/They were making records before anyone in R E M even knew what Rock was.
I hate to say it, but the Hall of Fame is getting as bad as the Grammy Awards, and that’s bad.
No Tull
No Moody Blues
No Guess Who
Pffft!!!
I couldn’t agree with most of the previous comments more. Of this recent group, all but Grand Master Flash are arguably Hall worthy, but not at the cost of ignoring giants of rock like Jethro Tull, The Moody Blues, Rush, Yes, etc. I visited the Rock Hall last summer and enjoyed it, but they really don’t get it when it comes to the selection of who is worthy or not.
I love music and I try to listen to everyone and everything at least once, but either I was sheltered, or heard and just ignored, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
Tull needs to be in before Kiss, the Flash Five, and Rush. Tull came along when bands took pains to sound different from everyone else. That period of time spawned the best rock and roll music ever. I’m sorry to see that so much of it is being used to sell burgers and Cadillacs, but it goes to show that the music nowadays, by and large, ain’t what it used to me.
When MTV came about, bands forgot all about having an individualistic sound and focused on making “music” that appealed to the program director at MTV. MTV ruined rock and roll as far as I’m concerned.
I appreciate the previous comments!!!
I WAS A MEMBER OF THE MUSEUM FOR THE FIRST SIX YEARS THEY WERE OPEN. i AM SICK OF THE POOR CHOICES AND THOUGHT PUT INTO THE INDUCTEES ALSO. BANDS LIKE CHICAG0-GRAND FUNK-CHICAGO-KANSAS-AND MANY OTHERS WHO NOT ONLY HAVE MADE SEVERAL ALBUMS, BUT ARE STILL ROCKIN TODAY ! THE HALL OF FAME WON’T RECEIVE ANY MORE OF MY SUPPORT.
I grew up in the best time for rock music. AM radio played great records.The DC5 were a big influence on bands including the Ramones and,appeared on Ed Sullivan MORE than ANY other band. A completely different sound than the rest of the Brit Invasion.They SHOULD be in the HOF!I can’t stand “classic rock” stations today,they play a small fraction of what we heard in the 60’s&70’s!Thank heavens for Little Stevens Underground show,the only place you can hear DC5,Procul Harum,Nazz,Vanilla Fudge,Searchers and NEW bands on the radio, keepin R&R alive! R.I.P. Dennis Payton (sax player DC5).Shame on you R&R HOF!Grand Master Flash indeed.
Aha, I’m hearing / reading so many valid statements above & can’t argue with most of them & I 100% agree about the statement / reference, “It’s the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame,” not rap, jazz, house, etc, although followers of those …, erm, “sounds” makers would say, “so where would our music’s success be recognized then?”
It’s kind of the same deal when you go into the Hard Rock Cafe & see the likes of Madonna in there. Hardly Hard Rock, now is it?!
I think in todays world we kind of have to acknowledge that many forms / styles of music may fall under the term, “rock & roll,” much to the dismay of many of us old (& young!) rock fans.
There’s also another side to that as well, completists could say that the likes of Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Kiss, etc, are not rock & roll anyway & that true rock & roll, was say the likes of Buddy Holly, Elvis, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc, see what I’m saying …, but’s that’s really not me …., as I understand & recognize rock & rolls many guises ….
Hey Ron …, you must either be from Canada or the UK! You mention Status Quo should be inducted! Ha! I’d agree with you for anywhere but the States success …..
They are, according to a recent BBC review, NOW the most successful UK singles band & have charted in the UK more times NOW than any other act!
I also recall that they were successful across Europe, Australia & Asia markets too …, but never got the breaks here in the USA. I saw them 10 times in the UK. Always an excellent live band & I guess the UK’s closest answer to ZZ Top, although they’ve been around longer than ZZ Top!
I’m sure the arguements / complaints will long continue as to who warrants inclusion into the rock & roll HOF & of course if it was based purely on commercial / sales success, Kiss should’ve been in there many moons ago!
BTW – I’m not certain, but is Peter Frampton already inducted? He has the best selling Live album ever, Frampton Comes Alive …, shouldn’t that warrant inclusion …? Here begins / begs another question why …, huh?!
You folks are also right about what a joke most of these top nominations are too. Like most music awards given today. Who determines the nominees?
Some of the names I hear are a complete joke when compared to others successes.
Sigh!
We rock & roll fans get no justice now do we?!
Keep on rockin’
Alun
Always wanted to go a ROCK ‘N’ ROLL Hall of Fame….but not this one! Too many selections and some of them not the right ones!…By the way WHERE the Dave Clark Five!
I call it the Hall of Shame. They have ignored the best selling American Hard Rock band from the 70’s: Grand Funk Railroad. It’s all politics. They (the so called rock elite that choose the nominees) don’t care that Grand Funk had 10 consecutive albums and that they sold out Shea Stadium faster than the Beatles and that they still hold that record today, some 36 years later. I’ll never set foot in the Hall of Shame until Mark Farner and the ORIGINAL Grand Funk Railroad get their due respects.
Correction: The ORIGINAL Grand Funk Railroad had 10 consecutive Platinum albums, under the leadership of Mark Farner. This “museum” will finally have some credibility in my opinion, when they recognize the ORIGINAL Grand Funk Railroad and especially Mark Farner.
Leave your egos and power tips at home start looking at the 60’s British Invasion and classic rock groups like the Dave Clark Five and the Moody Blues for induction. Fans have told you this before what is your beef with these groups. I have heard one of Directors say the MoodyBlues would never be inducted. If you can include RAP you should have inducted other groups first. How many signatures have you gotten for groups like this? Get your noses out of the air. You do not get to use this organization to grind some personal axe.
what ever happened to Rory gallagher?
one of the greatest blues artists of all time.
the fact that hes not in the rock and roll hall of fame and people like grandmaster flash and the furious five are even being CONSIDERED for a NOMINEE is disgraceful.
Roxy Music is the biggest omission from the US Rock Hall in Cleveland. They literally created art-rock and the new romantic genres. An analysis by one of the top newspapers in the UK, the Guardian, considers Roxy arguably the 2nd most influential band after the Beatles; at worst they are in the top-5. Morrissey was asked for his top-10 British albums of all time, and only said one: Roxy’s For Your Pleasure. U2 verbally inducted Roxy Music during their induction speech. Rolling Stone’s top 500 albums list 4 Roxy Music CDs. Founding member Eno is the most listed in the top-500, if one counts his Roxy, solo, and producing credits. Even the Sex Pistols stated they were influenced by Roxy. The Cars albums covers are Roxy tributes. Many young Brits formed bands while attending Roxy concerts……
The rock hall bases their inductions on how influential bands were. Kiss was not influential in the least bit. Cheap Trick and Foreigner were not influential.
Grand Master Flash was influential, and even though you may think folks like him are “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, well, they are.
I think the Rock Hall folks have done a great job selecting their choices, and in the future, I think they’ll continue to select the right folks. The people who select these bands are experts on rock n roll, so i think they know what theyre doing.
and the only two bands i really want to see inducted are Phish and Morphine.
Jann Wenner can only be embarrassed that NEIL SEDAKA and most of the Brill Building participants are not in the Hall of Fame while Donna Summer and Afrika Bambaattaa are being considered for induction this year.
Of course, no one knows where Rolling Stone is, its address or if its building has any history. But Sedaka and co always have 1619 Broadway, sitting there in all its splendor between 49th and 50th Streets, a living landmark. It will be there long after the whole debacle of the Hall of Fame is a distant memory.
By the way, the money raised by Neil at Avery Fisher Hall last friday Oct.26th was sent to Elton John’s AIDS Foundation. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, with $12 million in assets, gives no money to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland other than to maintain its own archives. It also donates around $150,000 a year to indigent musicians, but pays its own director upwards of $300,000 a year. Just in case you forgot.
I agree that some of these inductees are getting a little ridiculous. I definitively think that The Guess Who, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and/or Randy Bachman should be inducted. Who else has been as influential as Bachman. His music has inspired a lot of artists and has been recognized by almost everyone in the US and Canada. Isn’t this enough to qualify him?
I agree with the comments, this is silly. Grand Funk, DC5, bunches deserve to get in before these people. Is Todd Rundgren in the hall of fame? Should be as well as many many others.