Well gang, this is our Christmas Day, but the presents that we got from Cleveland have us scratching our collective heads.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have announced the Class of 2015, and we have to admit that based on the nominees we saw this playing out completely different.
The group getting most of the press of the Class, is Green Day, who were entering their first year of eligibility. The punk revival band have been very successful commercially, though have been somewhat polarizing in terms of whether they were influential or not. Saying that, they have performed often in previous induction ceremonies and most people expected Billie Joe and company to get in.
Joan Jett & Thee Blackhearts have also been chosen. There has been a lot of support championing Jett for the Hall, and this could be as close to the Hall as her original (and in our minds far more influential) group the Runaways will get. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has often for the past few years claimed they were looking to induct more women into the Hall, and Jett was as kick ass as it came in terms of female rockers. This selection should not receive any backlash from anyone.
Lou Reed enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a second time, this time for his solo work. Reed was nominated before as a solo act but unlike with the Velvet Underground it took a little longer than his first try to get in. Reed was still considered very influential on his own, and this is a nice touch to honor the man who passed away two years ago.
Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble also enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. SRV was a Blues Rock superstar in the 1980’s, and though he did not exactly break new ground, his music was a gateway for many Hard Rock fans to discover other genres that they had previously ignored. Stevie Ray Vaughn died in a plane crash in 1990.
A pleasant surprise was the induction of Bill Withers, who had multiple hits in the 1970’s crossing over from Jazz, R&B, Soul and Disco. This was the first time that Withers had been nominated though he had been eligible for nearly twenty years. Frankly, it is his performance we are looking forward to the most at the ceremony next year.
The sixth and final performer inductee was one that we honestly did not think we would ever see. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band crossed racial lines in the 1960’ and while an excellent band with a solid Blues-Rock sound, with all due respect to the band, had they never gotten in, it would not have a generated much of a reaction from anyone.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame also inducted two more musical acts, though in different categories.
The “5” Royales, a group that predates Elvis, brought Gospel, Blues and Jazz to their vocal harmonies and was chosen to be inducted as an Early Influence. Historically speaking, along with the Dominoes and Johnny Ace, this was a great choice and one that has been a perceived snub by Rock and Roll historians for decades.
In our mind the most bizarre induction is Ringo Starr, who was given this year’s Award for Musical Excellence, which was previously the Sideman Category. The change as explained by Joel Peserman, the President of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation allows them “flexibility to recognize people who might not ordinarily get recognized.”
Somehow being a former Beatle doesn’t seem like someone who could fall through the cracks and this selection feels a little crowbarred. Well, he’ll “get by with a little help from (his) friends.”
These selections of course mean that multiple finalists were not chosen.
This includes Kraftwerk, the synth-pop pioneers from Germany who were ranked #2 on our 2015 list. The Smiths, War, Nine Inch Nails, N.W.A., The Spinners, The Marvelettes and Chic (who have been nominated nine times) did not get in.
With the exception of Green Day, none of the bands chosen had any real commercial success in the last 15 years, or really anything critical of note. Considering that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has made rumblings in recent years of shortening the eligibility from 25 to 20 years, this Class doesn’t reflect any belief that as with the exception of Green Day, all other acts had a substantial wait to get inducted.
We have been open here at Notinhalloffame.com when we are pleased with a Hall of Fame Class, but we can’t say that we are pleased with this group as a whole.
The debate as to should be in Cleveland will likely intensify immediately, and we are eagerly awaiting your thoughts.
We will also be unveiling our 2016 Rock List by late January and we will be soliciting your opinions on the new entries soon.
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