Top Ten Artists who should not be in the Hall of fame but are!

samchn07 wrote:Yes the all artists is so evergreen. But i like wrestlers. Like a WWE..

There is a section on wrestling, you know.

Yes the all artists is so evergreen. But i like wrestlers. Like a WWE..

By the way, Jimmy, I wasn't being insulting. I'm very ignorant about many things, and I freely admit it--ignorant just means "not knowing," and we can't know everything, so I don't see it as an insult. But, really, in the internet age, Google and Wikipedia are your friends, and just about everything is accessible in seconds. As with anything on the internet, I don't issue a blanket voucher for the veracity of any source, but at least it gets you into the ballpark.Now, I do like Little Willie John, but I'm not entirely convinced that he belongs in the Hall. He did get upstaged on his best-known number: Peggy Lee made "Fever" her signature song. And if anything, his "Leave My Kitten Alone," with the female chorus chirping "Mee-ow!" every five seconds, finds its way onto mixes with regularity.And as for the question "what exactly IS rock and roll, anyway?" I am--WARNING: Shameless Plug Ahead--writing something for my DDT's Pop Flies column on that, so watch that space . . .

Valid point on Little Willie John DDT. But as you well know I m a populist (is that a word?, if not it sure does seem to fit) so I believe if I have neveer heard fo them then they cannot be worthy. Their has to be some popularity to the artist to be inducted. But I will give that I am ignorant to some of the genres and with my leanings towards more popular music I tend to overlook some artists. But I m totally with you on the main point of your post. How do we judge RARHOF candidates with no set criteria and objective measuring tools?

Great topic, Jimmy. With the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who got in is as controversial as who got left out.Percy Sledge's induction makes the entire RRHoF selection process a travesty, and in a sense makes Jimmy's list academic: If Sledge sets the bar so low, then everybody else above him should be in the Hall.Jimmy and I have gone back and forth on Miles Davis's induction several times, so I won't belabour it here except to restate my thesis: Davis's induction reflects his work that acknowledges the influence rock had on jazz. (Check the discussion on the Miles Davis page www.notinhalloffame.com/articles.php?article_id=1040 for more.)In that respect, I disagree with Casper--Davis is not an early influence; his relevant contributions to rock were contemporaneous with rock--they didn't occur prior to rock's invention; they happened in 1969. Similarly, John Coltrane does not belong in the RRHoF--he is not an early influence on rock. I've gone on at length about that on the Coltrane page ( www.notinhalloffame.com/articles.php?article_id=22 ).Unlike most sports Halls of Fame, which have common criteria against which candidates can be objectively measured, there are no such criteria for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Moreover, there is no commonly accepted definition as to what constitutes "rock and roll." Thus, who you think should or should not be in or out of the RRHoF is more likely to be a reflection of your own tastes, biases, and limitations. (Jimmy, not knowing who Little Willie John is only indicates your own ignorance and doesn't justify why or why not he should be in the Hall.)Rock began as the confluence of a number of musical streams--blues, R&B, country and western, pop, folk, and, yes, a little jazz--and has continued to expropriate and recombine musical elements throughout its continued development. Rap isn't rock? So Grandmaster Flash shouldn't be in the Hall? (My $0.02: They should be in for "The Message" alone, which single-handedly altered the course of hip-hop from party music into more socially aware directions. That's influence worthy of legacy recognition.) But we might consider the Red Hot Chili Peppers or even Faith No More, both of which borrowed rap elements for their punk-funk-metal sound?Frankly, every act now has so many hyphenates that it's all rock to me. And with the Hall making such arbitrary choices (Neil Diamond?), all we can do is add to the Sex Pistols' piss stain, right?

I'm going to have to agree that Percy Sledge is the weakest link. I went to IMDB to see if some sort of pop culture reference magically influenced the voters the year he was inducted. The only place "when a man loves a woman" shows up was on the Simpsons that year.Maybe the voters were big Simpsons fans?

Casper wrote:The Stooges are a hugely, hugely influential act. If you understand the induction of The Velvet Undeground, then The Stooges shouldn't raise an eyebrow.Miles Davis should have been inducted as an Early Influence. Coltrane as well.My Personal 10:Dave Clark FiveDellsNeil DiamondThe HolliesLittle Anthony & The ImperialsJohn MellencampMoonglowsBonnie RaittPercy SledgeZZ TopGave Darlene Love a free-pass since her work with Phil Spector certainly was innovative and influential, even if her discography as a whole doesn't add up to much. The acts I listed above are ones that are oft-forgotten and barely influential nowadays, if ever (Dave Clark Five, Moonglows, Dells) or simply didn't do anything all that creative (Mellencamp, Raitt, ZZ Top). Sledge is undeniably the worst inductee in The Hall of Fame, a choice that clearly is a step below the rest of the head-scratchers.

What about Raitt's guitar work? I don't know, kind of grasping at straws, she's an awards darling who they love because she overcame her addictions. Never have really seen what made her special, myself.Dave Clark isn't a selection I agreed with, but it's a better one than the Hollies, I think. British acts who flourished in the mid-60's are a bit over-honored.

Also, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five got in fairly. Voters are mailed ballots and then must return them on time, just like for the Emmys or Oscars or whathaveyou. I think it's kind of funny that a bunch of old fogeys sent their ballots in late and that the bulk of them voted for Dave Clark Five and not Grandmaster Flash.

The Stooges are a hugely, hugely influential act. If you understand the induction of The Velvet Undeground, then The Stooges shouldn't raise an eyebrow.Miles Davis should have been inducted as an Early Influence. Coltrane as well.My Personal 10:Dave Clark FiveDellsNeil DiamondThe HolliesLittle Anthony & The ImperialsJohn MellencampMoonglowsBonnie RaittPercy SledgeZZ TopGave Darlene Love a free-pass since her work with Phil Spector certainly was innovative and influential, even if her discography as a whole doesn't add up to much. The acts I listed above are ones that are oft-forgotten and barely influential nowadays, if ever (Dave Clark Five, Moonglows, Dells) or simply didn't do anything all that creative (Mellencamp, Raitt, ZZ Top). Sledge is undeniably the worst inductee in The Hall of Fame, a choice that clearly is a step below the rest of the head-scratchers.