Counterpoint: I never saw The Cars perform live, but I have several friends who did. All of them felt that it was among the worst concerts they’d ever attended – not because the music itself was bad, but because the band had no stage presence whatsoever.
Different strokes and all that, I suppose. 
I agree. The Cars had a very cool, technical sound that was very refreshing in the late 70s. I was a teenager then and vividly remember how much I liked their first couple of albums. Their sound was futuristic and modern, and clearly paved the way for New Wave acts to follow. I liked how the singers really never screamed or shouted, using a laid-back delivery. They also didn’t go in for long, indulgent guitar solos. In addition to having hits and being around for a long time, I think The Cars deserve to be in the HOF due to being fresh and innovative.
Much the same can be said for the Moody Blues a decade earlier. Innovative, professional and of high quality. In fact, Dire Straights fits in the same mold. I would place The Cars, Moody Blues and Dire Straights among my favorite bands, and I’m glad to see them make it.
Bon Jovi? Never really cared for them, and I don’t think they deserve the HOF based on quality criteria, though they certainly do based on sales and longevity. So, perhaps.
I have to admit I know nothing about Simone or Tharpe.
Def Leppard.
Oh yeah, no stage presence at all. I think they came out and introduced themselves, played the entire set and said thank you and left. I mean no banter with the audience at all. But the music was the way it was supposed to sound.
I’ve always thought the entire list is a highly personalised and heavily biased one, and as such it has little real credibility - its just a self validation exercise by a few ‘opinionistas’ who are simply feeding off the talent of others.
Whilst I certainly agree with many on the list, many on it are perplexing, and the omissions are simply bewildering.
Where is Big Mama Thornton for example - listen to a few of her hits and explain to me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQi-524GfdA There is no Spencer Davis Group, no Alvin Lee, why have Howlin Wolf and no Lightnin Hopkins?You might imagine that Rainbow would be in there, or Focus - or at least their lead guitarist Jan Akkerman.
If you have the Cars, then why not the B52s?
There’s Parliament and Sly & Family Stone but no War
If you are going to have the Beegees then you might imagine there would be KC & the Sunshine Band, that’s if you believe either of them should be in a rock n roll hall of fame at all
Maybe its my own personal bias - but no Rory Gallagher
Did Manfred Mann make across the pond?
Priest, MC5, Link Wray, Zombies. Thumbs up, get 'em in there.
I had Dire Straits (Knopfler is one of the great guitarists in the David Gilmour tradition–why weren’t they in years ago?), the Moody Blues (also surprised they weren’t already in), and Sister Rosetta Tharpe–who I think had been “telegraphed” by various media sources in the last couple of years. I’m glad she is getting proper recognition for her influence on the shape of rock guitar.
I would have also chosen Kate Bush, though; she essentially defined the singer-songwriter role for women distinct from the understated tradition of people like Joan Baez, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell. Without Kate Bush, there is, arguably, no Tori Amos, no Amy Lee. She showcased the possibilities of the upper reaches of the human voice for lyrical content as well as diva-like high notes, and carved a role for women in art rock. Her omission is a bit perplexing; I’m assuming she didn’t make it because she’s not as well-known on this side of the pond. It’s very unfortunate. I hope she makes it next year. It was good to see RAM nominated also. Their case isn’t as strong as Bush’s, but it’s good to have their name on the table.
Of the other three who got in: I’ll admit I liked Bon Jovi and The Cars when I was a teen in the 80s. I don’t think of them as Hall of Fame material by a long shot if you define Hall of Fame material as The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin, or The Velvet Underground–innovators, technical wizards, artists whose creativity takes the breath away. That’s not Bon Jovi or The Cars, but they made a lot of people’s youth a happier time, I guess. Sambora was a good enough guitarist, and Ocasek is an above-average songwriter and stylist. Consulting Wikipedia, I see the Cars have been covered by Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and the Melvins, so there’s that.
Nina Simone WAS technically brilliant and breathtakingly creative, and I think I did vote for her online at least once. I was probably a little hesitant to do so since she was not a rock singer by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not sorry she’s been inducted. If Cooperstown ever wants to induct Jim Thorpe or Robert Frost, I probably wouldn’t argue with that, either.
He had some hits here, but mostly covers. Doo Wah, Diddy Diddy, The Mighty Quinn (written by Bob Dylan), and with his Earth Band, a couple of Bruce Springsteen covers, Blinded By the Light and Spirit in the Night.
Link Wray is an odd case. I used to see guitarists cite him as a major influence all the time (I forget who it was that said “he taught me you could curse without using words”), but his body of work just doesn’t seem to support his being included in the upper pantheon. He SEEMS like he should be in there, what with his pioneering of power chords and all, but it’s hard to get past the whole “who the hell is that guy” thing. Also very hard to see him in before Dick Dale.
Maybe this is just my ignorance talking. If I listened to him more, I might feel differently.
One band that’s so thoroughly ignored it gets rejected from the list of rejects is Styx. Kinda puzzling since they put out a lot of great songs. According to Wikipedia:
Pretty impressive credentials but I guess Jann Wenner must really hate them.
I normally wouldn’t recommend such an honor for just a single song, but in this case I believe that if Rumble was the only thing Link Wray gave to the world, that he deserves this honor for it. It was way ahead of its time power and distortion-wise, and very influential to those moved by it.
They’ll get in. Corporate rock bands got shunned for a long time, but really, 30 years later I’d hope the artistic value of these bands is seen. The HOF voters act like the 60s were this amazing time of creativity. The 60s were, but it’s not like the 60s didn’t have ubercommercialism in music. It’s just that people of that generation celebrate it. People who grew up in the grunge era have the same disease, acting as if grunge wasn’t totally corporate by 1993. Once MTV started to structure their whole image around alternative it stopped being about the art.
Another thing that bugs me is the love of “raw”, as in, not too talented, vocalists and players. I recognize that for many fans of rock, it’s supposed to be dirty and chaotic, but as with any other style of music there’s room for virtuosos as well. Those ultra talented bands that were super slick and super tight while pushing the envelope of what could be done technically earned their place in rock history.
There was no ubercommercialism in music in the 60s because it had been invented yet. Record companies had no idea what to do with rock groups, had no idea of what the rock audience was, and had virtually no way of reaching it in the first place. The whole apparatus took a decade to form. You’re thinking of the 70s.
I do agree that people, meaning critics, have for rock generations pushed rawness and slicklessness to an obsessive degree. Not to mention that the flase equivalent that pretty=vapid. That attitude’s a plague on the field.
The group I want to see in that never seems to get talked about is Roxy Music. Glam rock pioneers, fine instrumentalists, a top notch front man, eight albums making the British top ten eight times, ended a decade of progressively better work with Avalon, one of the all-time great albums. What more does a group need to qualify?
Probably zero chance Dennis DeYoung would be invited to attend the induction.
Probably recognition in the US beyond a marginal cult fanbase. Roxy Music has never had a top ten album in the US (though Avalon did grind its way to platinum status). Their highest-charting single peaked at #30.
King Crimson isn’t in, either. Neither is Cliff Richard.
[quote=“bobot, post:91, topic:798026”]
I normally wouldn’t recommend such an honor for just a single song, but in this case I believe that if Rumble was the only thing Link Wray gave to the world, that he deserves this honor for it. It was way ahead of its time power and distortion-wise, and very influential to those moved by it.
[/QUOTE]I LOVE Nina Simone!
mc
Certainly the record companies had it down pat by 1966 when the Monkees debuted. And even if there wasn’t a massive corporate structure yet, the titans of the time geared their music towards making hit records in a systematic fashion every bit as crass as Britney Spears. At least later corporate rock bands were producing 40-60 minute albums of quality material, often concept albums. Most of the successful 60s groups focused on singles, 20-30 minute albums, and 20 minute concerts. Most 60s groups heavily relied on major labels’ songwriting stables and studio musicians. Whereas on a Journey or Styx album, nearly every note is played by the band and nearly every song is written by the band.
In the 60s the labels may not have known how to promote rock, but they sure figured out quickly how to mass produce it.
The Monkees had a television show. Nobody else did. Nobody else had their success either. 1 + 1 = $
Thanks for that tip, I’ll look it up!