The Songwriters Hall of Fame not only made history by announcing their Hall of Fame Class of 2017, but did so by selecting their first rapper to enter the Hall.

Jay-Z not only has many hits in the rap and hip hop genre but has garnered significant mainstream pop appeal.  In terms of chart success, Jay Z has few equals and his induction is likely to usher in a significant amount of more rap artists in the upcoming classes.  His signature hits include “Empire State of Mind”, “99 Problems”, “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” and “Bonnie & Clyde”.  He has won 21 Grammys over his career.

Swedish songwriter, Max Martin was also chosen.  Martin’s works includes 21 number one songs on the Billboard Hot 100.  His hits include “…Baby One More Time” (Britney Spears), “Shake It Off” (Taylor Swift) and “Can’t Feel My Face” (The Weeknd).  Martin penned all of Kay Perry’s number ones and most recently, “Can’t Stop the Feeling” (Justin Timberlake.  It is not an exaggeration to say that Martin is the most successful pop writer this millennium.

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds will also be inducted.  Babyface has written 23 #1 songs on the R&B Chart, including the monster hit, End of the Road (Boyz II Men).

Also chosen was the prolific songwriting and production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, whose relationship with Janet Jackson made her a megastar. 

Motown founder Berry Gordy was also included.  Besides being the creator of a musical empire, Gordy was a decent songwriter who helped write many of his label’s hits.

The final entrants are Peter Catera, Robert Lamm and James Pankow of Chicago.

This year marks the 48th Annual Induction, which will take place on June 15 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate this year’s Hall of Fame Class.

Slow and steady wins the race?

Ok, maybe we are trying to justify the slow pace of getting our Top 50 players of each franchise up, but we do have another one, and yes it is a return to the diamond.

As we are doing all of the franchises by random, the Colorado Rockies are up next, because…why…well, why not?

An expansion team in 1993, the Rockies have only made the playoffs three times, going as far as representing the National League in the World Series in 2007, though they were systematically destroyed in a four game sweep by the Boston Red Sox.

Casual fans still think the ball launches out of Coors Field (humidors have taken care of that) but that was the case in the 90’s and offense was a premium for the Rockies. 

Perhaps this is why so many of those on this list are from the 90’s!

The entire list can be found here, but as per tradition we always unveil the top five in our news item which are as follows:

1. Todd Helton
2. Larry Walker
3. Troy Tulowitzki
4. Carlos Gonzalez
5. Nolan Aranedo

As always, we look forward to your feedback and look for us to unveil a new top 50 soon.

Hall of Fame Pitcher and former U.S. Senator, Jim Bunning died at the age of 85 today. 

A fearless hurler who toiled in the Majors for seventeen seasons, Bunning was a nine time All Star and one of the few to throw a perfect game.  He retired from baseball with a 224 and 184 record with 2,855 Strikeouts.  Historically speaking he was the second player in MLB history to record 100 Wins and 1,000 Strikeouts in each league, mostly through efforts with the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies respectively.

Bunning would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame via the Veterans Committee in 1996.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends and family of Jim Bunning at this time.

A great voice died today.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Gregg Allman passed away peacefully today in his home in Savannah, Georgia.  Allman was 69 years old and had been reportedly battling liver problems for the past five years.

Considered by many to be one of the true fathers of Southern Rock, Allman formed the famed Allman Brothers Band with his older brother and acclaimed guitarist, Duane.  Melting the Southern rock sound with the upcoming jamming scene from San Francisco, The Allman Brothers spoke to Americans coast to coast.

The Allmans were influenced by the Blues, and Gregg’s whiskey soaked rasp was the perfect partner for his smooth yet electric keyboard playing.  The band became commercially successful, but Gregg emerged as the breakout star, especially with his marriage to Cher, which exposed him to a different audience than he would have normally received. 

Allman would also strike out on his own and put out a respected discography and had a reputation for being one of the great live performers in music history.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com extend our condolences to the friends and family of Gregg Allman at this time.