Bad Company
The Black Crowes
Mariah Carey
Chubby Checker
Joe Cocker
Billy Idol
Joy Division/New Order
Cyndi Lauper
Maná
Oasis
Outkast
Phish
The White Stripes
Thoughts?
No Weird Al.
Bogus.
I do love some Black Crowes, but I’m having trouble thinking of them as Hall of Fame material. Just not quite there.
My opinion would be: Outkast, White Stripes, Billy Idol, and while I don’t know a thing about them or their songs, Phish. They seem to have carved out quite the rock niche for themselves. The other ones from my era don’t seem to reach “HoF” status, and the ones from outside my era I don’t know enough about to make a judgement.
Oasis and Outkast deserve to be in. White Stripes should be a first ballot no brainer. I’d consider Phish a borderline call. Maybe Joy Division as an “influence” pick. The others are all strictly second-tier acts at best IMO.
I have been following these nominations and inductions for 30 years and I still have no idea what the criteria is. Devo doesn’t even make the nominees list anymore and they are more influential than any artist in the OP.
Joe Cocker
Phish (though not a fan)
That’s it.
Sales figures alone don’t necessarily qualify an artist, but a career full of enormous popular appeal doesn’t hurt.
Mariah Carey would top that list. Fifteen straight top five albums in the US, six number ones. Twenty-one top ten singles, 16 of them #1. Over 200 million albums sold, more than any other female artist. She’s been a big name for decades. Everybody thinks her voice is great. I couldn’t name a single song by her, but I would definitely put her in this HoF, adding to her collection.
Oasis was never huge in the States but I checked their discography in the UK. Seven out of seven studio albums went to #1, and a live album hit #5. A full 23 singles made the top ten and nine of them were number ones. They were one of the biggest and most important bands of their decade. Seems like a no-brainer for inclusion.
Outkast, by contrast, is as big and important in the US and as relatively minor in UK. Also a no-brainer.
Then, to change things up, we have charts? who cares about charts? Phish. The emblem of the jam genre now that the Dead are gone. Yes to them as well.
The others? Nice careers but not at the same level. Except maybe for Maná, which Wiki says is the most successful Latin American band of all time, with the best selling all-Spanish record. Sounds good to me.
I’ve read somewhere someone arguing for his inclusion, if for no other reason than being the best cover band of all time.
Not that I take this shit seriously, but it’s pretty amusing that Oasis is nominated and their main influence (Paul Weller and The Jam) have never made the cut.
Still no ELP or Jethro Tull. Still no Guess Who or King Crimson. Still the “Rock and Roll (Except for Bands and Genres Jann Wenner Doesn’t Like) Hall of Fame”.
Still an absolute joke.
Cyndi Lauper. “Time After Time” is a work of genius that transcends genres.
I would definitely have Outkast. Joy Division is one of the greats, so I’d put them in. Chubby Checker, probably, too. Cyndi Lauper, sure. White Stripes? I love them but I don’t know. They seem borderline to me. Definitely not Oasis for me. Phish? I mean, if we need to represent a jam band, I can’t say they don’t deserve to be there, but I’m thinking nah, myself, even though I was a Phish fan back in the day. Billy Idol probably makes it through, for me, too, though I’m not really intimately acquainted with his work.
Heck, at this point let anyone in who’s interested. Maybe migrate to a Hollywood Walk Of Fame model where anyone can nominate performers and 30 - 40 are chosen by committee every year. The [living] selectees then have to agree to show up to the induction ceremony and their sponsors have to pony up $75K to cover the costs.
Why? That is the one that particularly baffles me. He’s a cover artist with some hit records over a very short period based on dance crazes. Van McCoy has a better claim to fame since he actually wrote the dance song he performed.
Interesting list.
I disagree with Cyndi Lauper and Black Crowes.
Lauper had one good album. She’s So Unusual. Her three hits (Time after Time, Girls Wanna have fun, She-bop) were on that album. Then she jumped into pro wrestling for awhile.
The Black Crowes hit, She Talks to Angels is the only thing I remember.
Any thoughts on the nominations? Who should get cut?
Existing thread, started earlier today:
Didn’t see it.
I’ll slink away now.
If it’s both of these, they should be a shoo-in
People go on about Joy Division, but New Order are, if anything, more influential and a more successful band.
Pretty sure their main influence is The Beatles.
He’s out of the loop now, as much as he deserves excoriation for his prior influence in ignoring deserving acts.