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Rock and Roll (600)

Music.  It has the ability to bring people together.  It can stir up hidden emotions.  It can cause you to get up and physically move.  It can help you through your work day.  It separates generations.  We could describe it for page after page in terms both specific and vague but music simply means different things to different people.  Likely, many of these things were on the mind of the builders of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, a tribute to those who built up the genre of Rock and Roll.

Their intentions certainly seemed clear enough.  Their website states that “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honors the legendary performers, producers, songwriters, disc jockeys and others who have made rock and roll the force that it is in our culture”.  For our purposes, we are going to focus on the performer section of the Hall.  That being said, the first rule of eligibility is very simple.  Once an artist has gone twenty five years after the release of their first record, they become eligible.  After that it becomes a little murky.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame states that “criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll”.  Influence and significance is certainly open to interpretation.  For that matter, so is Rock and Roll.  When Bill Haley sang Rock around the Clock over sixty years ago was he describing a sound, a look or maybe just an attitude?  Did the songwriters just like the word “rock”?  The origin of Rock music is so difficult to pinpoint its subsequent evolution is just as equally hard to chart.

With these vague parameters we at Not in Hall of Fame put our own committee together and came up with the top 250 artists whom we feel deserve consideration for enshrinement in Cleveland.  Are we right?  Are we wrong?   We know two things for sure; the first is that while compiling this list we felt we could make a viable case for multiple artists to be in our number one slot, the second was that it was a blast coming up with it.  Let us know what you think and based on who gets inducted, who becomes newly eligible, your opinions and how our own perceptions change, we will see how we rank them in the following year.    

Until then, Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World!

Sincerely,

 

The Not in Hall of Fame Rock and Roll Committee.

The current top group is a band that has been considered one of the most important groups of the 1980’s. Although, The Smiths were a far bigger deal in their native England than they were on the other side of the Atlantic; though finding many passionate fans of The Smiths in North America is far from difficult.
For years there has been a lack of Progressive Rock acts in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The bulk of that genre originated in the United Kingdom and it is there where we make our next selection, Jethro Tull. However, like many other British Progressive Rock bands they are on the outside looking in.
Sooner or later, a BritPop band will find a representative in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  While there have been some very important groups that debuted before Oasis the odds are strong that this is the band that will go in first.
With our next selection we had a bit of an internal debate. We were very tempted to merge the work of Joy Division and New Order to form one entry. There is a precedent for this as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame collectively inducted Parliament and Funkadelic but unlike the aforementioned Funk outfits, New Order began when Joy…
When the Alternative scene exploded into the mainstream many pointed to Seattle as the origin of it all. Funny, how many of those bands pointed back East to the Pixies as the group who was really responsible.
Combining Garage Rock, the Blues, kooky lyrics and a bit of the Punk ethos, Jack and Meg White became superstars in both the Alternative and Mainstream world; the latter being impressive as the early 2000’s were dominated by Hip Hop. Formed in 1987 in Detroit, Jack Gillis met Meg White, and quickly collaborated and married, with Jack taking on Meg’s…
Heavy Metal is one of those genres that will generate more passion from its listeners than most. Recent inductee, Metallica suffered a minor backlash for cutting their hair and softening their sound in the 90’s to become more commercially viable.  Yet as successful as Metallica was, they may not be the Heavy Metal band with the most die hard fans.…
With three nominations in the past ten years, it could be argued that Gram Parsons could be considered a future lock for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Considering that Parsons is considered the father of Country Rock there is a good chance he soon will.
When the NIHOF committee got together and threw around adjectives to describe the musicians on this list the word “revolutionary” was mentioned quite often. Revolutionary certainly fits the music of MC5 (The Motor City 5), but this could be the only band that actually wanted to start a political revolution one as well.
Whether you love Coldplay or detest them (there does not seem to be an in between) they have set a course for themselves that could make them an early Hall of Fame entry. They have conquered both sides of the Atlantic, were constantly on the charts and they have just enough critical respect to make them a complete candidate. Often…
As seen with our sixth selection the NIHOF committee elected to separate New Order and Joy Division. We may reevaluate that decision one day, but considering the separate “life of its own” that Joy Division appears to be garnishing lately; it made more sense to us to create individual entries.
Considering the amount of Progressive Rock bands on this list and the lack of Progressive Rock representation in the hall we have often wondered if any of them will ever get through. Despite the relatively high ranking we are giving King Crimson and the high regard they are held in many circles, this is likely not the band that will…
We at NIHOF were pleasantly surprised by the recent induction of the Ventures to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although we were happy for them, we couldn’t help but feel that someone else who represented the Surf sound should have gotten in there first.
With this selection, we approach an artist who we just couldn’t figure out where to place; or even if we should place him at all. Was John Coltrane right for the Roots and Early Influence category? We didn’t think so as his greatest success and period of influence was simultaneous with the British Invasion. Does Jazz have a viable place…
Many of the musicians on this list create a polarizing opinion as to their “validity”. In the latter half of the 1960’s, there likely was no group that separated fans as much the Monkees did. Their bubblegum image and status as a corporate creation were labels that they couldn’t shake, and despite the fun solid music they made they were…
Our next act is a band that will likely be beat out for induction by other 90’s Alternative acts, despite having a sound that wasn’t really like the bands they are often lumped with. Of course, it is really hard to categorize Sonic Youth with any other band, they were just that unique.
Some bands just have an iconic status without really trying to. From the unique way that lead singer Lemmy sings upright into the microphone, the umlaut over the second letter ö and their biker look, Motörhead may be more recognizable visually than audibly by those whom are unfamiliar with the British rockers. Of course, fans of Motörhead could never confuse…
Welcome to the first true heavyweight entry of the Grunge question.  The question is not whether a Grunge associated act will get in; because one will.  The question is how many, and does the Hall have a quota.  With Soundgarden now eligible, we are fascinated to see what will happen.
Do we even bother to raise the Progressive Rock question in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anymore? As this list continues we find yet another band of the aforementioned genre who may be wondering what they have to be considered Hall eligible. Certainly, the fans of Emerson, Lake & Palmer are wondering the same thing.
Easily one of the most important Alternative bands of the 1990’s, the Smashing Pumpkins were able to become Alternative stars without sounding like the Grunge stars that they were often lumped in with.  The Pumpkins could master varying emotions effortlessly easily delivering songs with unparalleled sorrow to tunes of blistering rage.  They delivered these skills to the video medium, and…