Rush, Public Enemy among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees
Well, that took long enough. But will they get in?
The nominees this year:
Rush
Deep Purple
Public Enemy
NWA
Heart
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Randy Newman
Donna Summer
Kraftwerk
Procol Harum
Chic
The Meters
Albert King
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Marvelettes
What think ye, Dopers?
Well, they *should *get in. But will they? Not sure. Same with Heart and Chic.
These acts seem like they would have the biggest claim on music, influence and / or longevity - so would be the ones that could get votes ahead of Rush…
Don’t know. I’ll have to take a look at Jan Wenner’s record collection to see who should get in.
I will be seeing Rush on Oct 20.
Saw them twice already on this tour. For a band approaching their 40th year together they did what you expected, a couple hours of their best known material. Nothing new.
NO - they did the exact opposite! Three hours of material that will blow you away. For the first time in their history they are joined on stage by other musicians. Rush continues to push themselves in new directions and is not the nostalgia act everybody else from their era seems to be.
I could care less about the RR HOF. Many musicians seem to care little about it too. For a band that has never been about mainstream popularity, I doubt this will change much of anything.
I don’t see any reason why they wouldn’t, but of course I didn’t see any reason for them not being nominated until now.
Here’s my thoughts on the others:
Heart - Yes they’re in. 70’s rock band turned 80’s ballad factory and a ton of hits. Also, rare case of siblings that still speak to one another.
Deep Purple - Enough hits, a lot of successful alumni, how popular are they are in the U.S.?
Public Enemy and NWA - No, they’re not rock were relatively short-lived and didn’t release enough material.
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts- No, I love rock’n roll too but her solo career could be summed up with that one cover song. IMHO The Runaways have a better chance.
Randy Newman - I don’t think so, but great songwriter + annoying voice = winning formula.
Donna Summer- Yes, too big of a star to ignore and I smell a posthumous inductee, pun intended.
Kraftwerk- No, as influential as they have been, their own material was not popular nor profitable enough.
Procol Harum - No, huge influence on progressive rock, sadly, really only known to the masses for the one song.
Chic - No, a ton of hits, all disco, rock and roll’s mortal enemy.
The Meters - No, awesome funk band, spawned and supported many others, released 10 albums between 1969 and 1970. Ask someone to name one?
Albert King- Yes, other than being one of the 3 Kings of the blues, The Velvet Bulldozer played a freaking Flying V guitar in 1957!? He better be in!
Paul Butterfield Blues Band - No, although tied to some other successful acts, just not successful enough on their own.
The Marvelettes - Maybe, one of the first all-girl groups, rival of The Supremes
I saw them last tour. Other than having to take an intermission in the middle they haven’t missed a step. I don’t know of any other group that has put out albums for over 30 years that all have at leadt 4-5 iPod worthy songs on them. But having said that I’m not too thrilled with the new album. I like that they went harder but the songs all seem a bit too similar to each other. I am still looking forward to the show.
They’re going to have to shore up the stage for the Deep Purple alum. It’ll be interesting to see who shows and who doesn’t if they’re inducted.
I think as contentious as the whole Rush thing has been, the mere fact that they’re nominated points to them getting in. Is this the first time they’ve made the nomination pool?
I’ve said for a long time that there’s NO excuse for Deep Purple being kept out so long, especially when so many of their imitators have already been enshrined.
Unfortunately, the voters are mostly critics whose tastes are far removed from my own. Critics tend to HATE both heavy metal and prog rock, which means that there’s no way Deep Purple, Rush AND Procol Harum could be elected. My guess is, critics will hold their noses and elect ONE of those groups. Probably Deep Purple.
The critics will feel they HAVE to induct a classic rap group, so either NWA or Public Enemy will get in, for sure. But not both.
Kraftwerk was EXTREMELY influential (every synth pop or techno pop group has copied them), though never very successful, so I think they’ll get in.
And Randy Newman was a critics’ darling, so he’ll get in.
They’ll also feel they need to induct a woman, which means either Joan Jett or Donna Summer will get in. Critics are sensitive to accusations the inductees are too white, so Donna Summer gets the edge.
What if Ritchie shows up with his wife, and insists on playing “Smoke on the Water” with mandolins, lutes, lyres and harpsichords, dressed in green tights and elf shoes?
Just wait. The new material has been the highlight of the show. A couple songs that I did not like all that much turned into favorites after the show.
Plus, the stage show has a new energy to it that was lacking last time around.
Back on topic, this is the first time Rush has been nominated.
And for the first time we get to vote! Go to this link and you can help getting them in (or not).
The ballot will be only one of over 600 ballots to determine who enters, but still, at least one vote would be in their favor…
Why do they insist on filling the ROCK AND ROLL Hall of fame with artist from other genres?
Add another “It’s about time!” from me on a number of these folks.
RUSH and Deep Purple should publicly refuse the nomination, citing the RRHOF’s status as a complete sham.
Why on earth would that fat, arrogant, loud mouth get nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Oh wait… you mean the band… nevermind.
Rush’s statement about it was very Canadian but still managed to say it doesn’t mean much to them.
Completely undeserving. Horrible band. Do they even play their own instruments?
NWA
No Kiss, no Yes.
Bah.
Alex’s last year was better, “They’ll continue their policy of ignoring us and we’ll continue our policy of not caring.”
And man, that’s a great pic of Joan Jett (a personal favorite of mine) at Rolling Stone.
I’ve gotten the impression over the years that, if only RS would have nominated them, the voters would have voted for them.
My votes went to Rush, Deep Purple, Heart, Joan Jett, and … Randy Newman.