With all due respect to Grandmaster Flash, it was Run-D.M.C. that should have been the first Rap act to the Hall.  Granted they were not the first, but their impact was so vital, the inaugural Rap slot should have gone to them.

The great girl group of the early 60’s was fronted by the sultry voiced Ronnie Spector who was quite the exotic beauty in her day.  It was said that Phil Spector had lobbied for years to deny the Ronettes to the Hall due to his acrimonious divorce from Ronnie and considering they were inducted soon after Phil’s legal woes there seems to be some credence to that story.

A star on the R&B charts through out the 50’s, Ruth Brown had few peers and though she faded from fame after that decade, her legacy was already set.

From underground to Cult band to the top Alternative band in North America, R.E.M, hit it big doing things their way.  That alone earned them their first year induction.

Inducted in 1997.  From Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.