I guess we've said all that needs to be said about the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame hundreds of times before. But, let's say it all again anyway.
First, I have no issue with calling the museum the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and I don't have an issue with inducting acts that aren't "rock & roll," and that includes hip hop. Rock & Roll is a feeling, a mindset, and it can be felt in just about every genre of music. As Tom Waits once said about the Abyssinian Baptist Gospel Choir's 1960 release, "That thing rocks!" It sure does!
Here are this year's inductees:
The White Stripes
OutKast
Soundgarden
Cyndi Lauper
Joe Cocker
Bad Company
Warren Zevon
Salt-N-Pepa
Carol Kaye
Thom Bell
Nicky Hopkins
And...Chubby Fucking Checker!
After a quick perusal of the line-up, while also keeping personal taste out of it, I would say the only ones deserving of the...uh...honor...are Joe Cocker, Warren Zevon, Carol Kaye, Thoom Bell and Nicky Hopkins.
There are arguments to be had over the others, and I'd like to have those discussions with anyone willing to defend them.
But Chubby Fucking Checker? As one friend said, "He's got one fucking song!" Yeah, and guess what? It's not even his song. Should we consider "The Hucklebuck" which reached #2 in Canada? Is he being inducted because, in his own words, he "invented dancing apart to the beat?"
Well, I guess the only upside to letting in Mr. Checker this year, is not letting in Phish, Oasis and Mariah Carey
39 comments:
Chubby Checker really is an embarrassing choice. All the others can be argued over. Not Mr. Checker, bless him.
OutKast is one of the great and influential hip-hop artists. Many of there albums are considered seminal works and the others are just awesome. Thanks for all you do, sir! :)
Still no Monkees?
White Stripes are in as well - I think they deserve it
Nice to see Nicky on the list.
As for Checker, I suspect people thought they were actually voting for Gary U.S. Bonds. 😎
Generally agree with you. Maybe Cyndi Lauper, three solid records, multiple big singles, decent jazz-pop record, Kinky Boots, pretty good return to style with Bring Ya To The Brink, and a string of interesting late-career covers and genre diversions. Attitude is right. I agree with Simels re: Monkees, come on! Bad Company- what, we're gonna let them all in eventually? And Chubby Checker? No. But those knuckleheads will probably put him in just because they seem determined to piss people off in new ways every year.
"Maybe Cyndi Lauper, three solid records, multiple big singles, decent jazz-pop record, Kinky Boots, pretty good return to style with Bring Ya To The Brink, and a string of interesting late-career covers and genre diversions. Attitude is right."
Excellent sales pitch! I would like to see that same overview for all the other inductees.
As for Bad Company, I love the first four records, but if Free isn't in the hall then Bad Co. shouldn't be.
The Lauper pitch was me.
You left off (as was mentioned by Titanic Days above) -- the White Stripes. Gotta represent the Motor City again!
Okay, I fixed the omission of The White Stripes. Now, would anyone like to convince me ala Cleveland Jeff why they belong?
Free: 4 years, 1 top 20 album, (4 UK), 1 top 10 single, (4 UK), Paul Kossoff
Bad Company: 20 years (8 with original line-up), 4 top 10 albums (3 UK), 2 top 10 singles (0 UK), Mick Ralphs
That gives the clear edge to Bad Company, who lasted longer and had Mick Ralphs, but probably there's reason enough that neither get in.
I'll pass on the White Stripes, and I'd be fine if the Rock Hall did too. They never made sense to me. I get it.
I see a handful of worthy inductees.
OK -- I'm not the biggest fan of the White Stripes (even considering where I live), but I do think Jack White is probably the most current "rock and roll" guitar player and raconteur (no pun intended) in the music world today. I enjoy his solo material more than the Stripes, but I can't deny that without the novelty (much less the music) of the Stripes, we may not have what we have from him now. And we can blame the White Stripes for the Black Keys, I guess.
And Hitler liked classical music.
I am surprised about Phish being excluded as they swept the "fan vote" by a wide margin.
I was really hoping that Joy Division/New Order would get the nomination
I had given up on Nicky ever getting his due, so his induction this year (almost) makes up for the other stupid decisions.
If there're going to be more inductees like Mr Checker maybe the HoF should consider adding a "One-Hit Wonders Annex."
This isn't to push for Mr. Checker, but he had 7 Top 10 hits (Billboard)...8 if you include the Twist getting there a second time. He had 7 more in the 11-20 range, 4 more 21-30, and 3 in the 31-40 range. Decidedly NOT a one-hit wonder....
I stand corrected, Guypinot. I should do the research before popping off. Apologies. (Though I meant it humorously...)
It is all politics. Who should we ( popular vote aside) induct this year?
Who will generate the most ticket sales to the event? Which label are they on? And can that corporation buy enough tickets?
What acts are going to generate the most TV buzz when we air the event? How much can we sell ad time for when the event broadcasts?
Who in the biz do we need to keep happy?
Having been on the inside of this process, it is all politics and has nothing to do with R&R.
Ken D...I actually didn't see your post, though mine coming right after yours would make it seem so....
Chubby Checker isn't even Chubby.
Ken D- For the first 10-15 years that the rock hall museum was open, they had a one-hit wonder room/display. It was great, my brother was in it. ClevelandJeff
I never saw the White Stripes play but I did see The Raconteurs at Nassau Coliseum opening for Dylan. Of the 14,000 people there I seemed to be the only one who thought they sucked. I gave out a huge boo late in their set expecting a few souls to join me, ...there was extremely loud silence. As I said of 14,000 I was the only one who thought they sucked. Sorry gang but they did suck!!!
Nicky, Carol, Joe, Warren, Cyndi, Thom, Bad: Just fine as far as I'm concerned. (Notice I'm on a first name basis with all of them).
Considering some of the clowns that have been voted into The R&R Hall of Fame in recent years Chubby's election is a minor transgression.
Just sayin'!!!
"Thank you, we'll be here all week, be sure to tip your waitress!"
Captain Al
I too think Chubby's pretty iffy--Gary U.S. Bonds would've been more deserving. I'm fine with the others. Still waiting on The Clovers (the BIGGEST oversight from a historical perspective), Billy Ward and His Dominoes, Paul Revere & the Raiders, King Crimson, Thin Lizzy, War, and (since we're inducting pop divas) Olivia Newton-John. I'd be okay with Cliff Richard and the Shadows (to get Hank Marvin inducted). I could rattle off some the typical Dad Rock omissions too, but this'll suffice. I also unapologetically love Dan Fogelberg, but I'd be shocked if he gets in.
Carol Kaye is long overdue. I'm not particularly a fan of Chubby Checker, but if we're going to ding him because The Twist wasn't originally his song, then we need to ding Joe Cocker for the same reason. (I don't think either one is remotely HoF-worthy, but also agree that they're far from the HoF's most embarrassing picks.) Bad Company was a bit past their prime when I started listening to rock music and I didn't have any time for them when I was in HS or college - or for years after. Now that I'm old, and see what passes for rock ' n roll nowadays, they've grown on me. Not revolutionary but solid practitioners. HoF worthy? Eh, more so than Chubby and Joe. As for the White Stripes, they don't do much for me but you can't have ONLY '60s and '70s acts in the Hall. --Marc
I don’t have much to add — I just try to ignore this whole thing every year. Honestly, Ed Norton and Ralph dancing to the Hucklebuck in The Honeymooners deserve a spot in the Rock Hall more than most of these people.
e***
Really surprised Carole Kaye is not there already.
Chubby Checker ? Why not the Fat Boys, Shaun Cassidy or Plastic Bertrand while they are at it.
J from Europe.
The Raconteurs do not suck. That is all.
Sales pitch (lol):
OutKast made a total of 6 platinum albums in 12 years. 4 of these albums peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200. Another peaked at #1 (Their debut was the lone exception, topping out at #20). They sold over 20 million albums. Additionally, they had 3 #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 (‘Ms Jackson’, ‘Hey Ya!’, ‘The Way You Move’).
All six of OutKast’s studio albums are highly regarded. Example: 3 albums made the Pazz & Jop Critic’s Poll: 1998 #6 Aquemini; 2000 #1 Stankonia; #1 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. AllMusic ranks 5 of OutKast’s 6 albums with a minimum of 4 stars (2 had 5 stars).
There are very few artists with comparable bonafides. Include 1996’s ATLien with the above-named albums and that’s a four-album run that objectively deserves at least mention with the greats. Thank you for your time and consideration. :)
Eric
FYI He got his stage name from Fats Domino
Fats = Chubby Domino=Checker(s).
agree with you fully and furthermore, the Twist is the only dance i could ever do in a semi competent manner. rs
I think the fan vote only counts as one vote. It’s just PR, really.
My biggest complaints about omissions were Zevon and The J. Geils Band, so half way there. Carol Kaye and Nicky Hopkins are long overdue as well. And yes, I don’t know why I waste two minutes thought about this, but I do.
I have no idea what the criteria are for entry. If they aren't for lifetime achievement, I'd say that Lauper's She So Unusual was just so good that I don't have a problem with it (says something to about the talent behind the Hooters who produced another of my favorite all-time albums — Largo)
As for Chubby, well, again, we're not dealing with lifetime achievement, I remember when his twist songs came out and it seemed like the whole damn country was dancing to them. it seemed to me that it was the moment that mainstream america realized they didn't have to do dance with their hands interlocked, they could just let it go and have fun. I'm guessing for more than a few it was an entry into music that they either never heard or openly dismissed. To see ,my parents and their friends dancing to the Twist told you everything that was wrong and that was right with the song.
With hits like "Let's Twist Again" and "Slow Twisting" along with his ludicrous library of Twist sequels "Twist USA," "Paloma Twist," "Teach me Twist" it's easy to think of him as a one hit wonder.
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