OK, so I’m not losing sleep over who gets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the latest batch of nominee’s reminded me of how haphazard this process can be. This year voters get to pick from a wide variety of artists, which includes overlooked bands like The Zombies and MC5, singer/songwriters like Todd Rundgren and John Prine, genre pioneers like Kraftwork, and Rage Against the Machine, 80’s phenoms like The Cure and Devo, dancefloor divas like Chaka Khan, and Janet Jackson, or popular favorites like LLCoolJ, Stevie Nicks and Def Leppard. It’s not that I have a big issue with any of these artists, it’s that there are so many other deserving candidates who seem to have been forgotten. USA Today ran an article in recent days naming what they considered to be artists that were “snubbed” (e.g. Blink-182, Bone Thugs N-Harmony, Jane’s Addiction?), and while they did name a few I hadn’t thought of (e.g. Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Snopp Dogg, Kate Bush), they left off what I considered to be the more obvious choices. Four groups that jump to my mind are the Doobie Brothers, Boston, America, and The Guess Who. Each one of those bands produced at least a half dozen classic songs that are still being played on the radio 40+ years later. Their credentials are far superior to many of the other artists who are already in the hall.
In many cases, members of popular bands are also enshrined for their individual careers (e.g. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, John Lennon…). Along those lines, I believe that a singer like Paul Rodgers should be admitted for his work in bands like Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and Queen. Similarly, Sammy Hagar (Montrose, Van Halen, solo career), Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio) and Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith) should qualify for their stellar careers. With bands like Journey and Cheap Trick already recognized, it’s hard to understand the exclusion of bands like Foreigner and Styx. Similarly, if Deep Purple was worthy, so is Bad Company, and if Bon Jovi belongs, so do The Scorpions. I don’t mind newer acts like Radiohead being nominated, but I don’t want to see some of these classic acts forgotten. If you need further proof for the artists I mentioned, listen to the following:
- The Doobie Brothers: Long Train Running, Black Water, China Grove, Jesus Is Just Alright, Taking it to the Streets, Listen to the Music
- Boston: More Than a Feeling, Foreplay/Long Time, Piece of Mind, Don’t Look Back, Rock and Roll Band, Feelin’ Satisfied
- America: Horse With No Name, Ventura Highway, Sister Golden Hair, Lonely People, I Need You, Tin Man
- The Guess Who: American Woman, These Eyes, Undun, No Time, Share the Land, No Sugar Tonight
- Paul Rodgers: Alright Now (Free), Bad Company (BC), Ready for Love (BC), Shooting Star (BC), Feel Like Making Love (BC), Satisfaction Guaranteed (The Firm)
- Steve Winwood: Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group), Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith), Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic), John Barlycorn Must Die (Traffic), Arc of the Diver
- Sammy Hagar: Bad Motor Scooter (Montrose), Heavy Metal (solo), I Can’t Drive 55 (solo), Dreams (Van Halen), Right Now (Van Halen)
- Ronnie James Dio: Man on the Silver Mountain (Rainbow), Heaven and Hell (Black Sabbath), The Mob Rules (Black Sabbath), Holy Diver (Dio)
- Foreigner: Cold As Ice, Long Long Way from Home, Feels Like the First Time, Hot Blooded, Urgent, Juke Box Hero, I Want to Know What Love Is
- Styx: Lady, Suite Madame Blue, Come Sail Away, Fooling Yourself, Blue Collar Man, Renegade
- Bad Company: Bad Company, Ready for Love, Seagull, Shooting Star, Feel Like Making Love, Rock and Roll Fantasy
- The Scorpions: Holiday, The Zoo, No One Like You, Rock You Like a Hurricane, Still Loving You, Winds of Change,
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Bjcorbin's Blog 
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2018)
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, tagged America, Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Blind Faith, Boston, Chaka Khan, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Def Leppard, Devo, Doobie Brothers, Foreigner, Janet Jackson, John Prine, Journey, MC5, Radiohead, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Ronnie James Dio, Steve Winwood, Stevie Nicks, Styx, The Cure, The Guess Who, The Scorpions, The Zombies, Todd Rundgren, Traffic on October 11, 2018| 3 Comments »
OK, so I’m not losing sleep over who gets into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the latest batch of nominee’s reminded me of how haphazard this process can be. This year voters get to pick from a wide variety of artists, which includes overlooked bands like The Zombies and MC5, singer/songwriters like Todd Rundgren and John Prine, genre pioneers like Kraftwork, and Rage Against the Machine, 80’s phenoms like The Cure and Devo, dancefloor divas like Chaka Khan, and Janet Jackson, or popular favorites like LLCoolJ, Stevie Nicks and Def Leppard. It’s not that I have a big issue with any of these artists, it’s that there are so many other deserving candidates who seem to have been forgotten. USA Today ran an article in recent days naming what they considered to be artists that were “snubbed” (e.g. Blink-182, Bone Thugs N-Harmony, Jane’s Addiction?), and while they did name a few I hadn’t thought of (e.g. Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Snopp Dogg, Kate Bush), they left off what I considered to be the more obvious choices. Four groups that jump to my mind are the Doobie Brothers, Boston, America, and The Guess Who. Each one of those bands produced at least a half dozen classic songs that are still being played on the radio 40+ years later. Their credentials are far superior to many of the other artists who are already in the hall.
In many cases, members of popular bands are also enshrined for their individual careers (e.g. Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, John Lennon…). Along those lines, I believe that a singer like Paul Rodgers should be admitted for his work in bands like Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and Queen. Similarly, Sammy Hagar (Montrose, Van Halen, solo career), Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio) and Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, Blind Faith) should qualify for their stellar careers. With bands like Journey and Cheap Trick already recognized, it’s hard to understand the exclusion of bands like Foreigner and Styx. Similarly, if Deep Purple was worthy, so is Bad Company, and if Bon Jovi belongs, so do The Scorpions. I don’t mind newer acts like Radiohead being nominated, but I don’t want to see some of these classic acts forgotten. If you need further proof for the artists I mentioned, listen to the following:
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