Posted on 09/16/2023 6:43:58 PM PDT by Mr. Mojo
NEW YORK (AP) — Jann Wenner, who co-founded Rolling Stone magazine and also was a co-founder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, has been removed from the hall’s board of directors after making comments that were seen as disparaging toward Black and female musicians.
“Jann Wenner has been removed from the Board of Directors of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation,” the hall said Saturday, a day after Wenner’s comments were published in a New York Times interview.
Wenner created a firestorm doing publicity for his new book “The Masters,” which features interviews with musicians Bob Dylan, Jerry Garcia, Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend and U2’s Bono — all white and male.
Asked why he didn’t interview women or Black musicians, Wenner responded: “It’s not that they’re inarticulate, although, go have a deep conversation with Grace Slick or Janis Joplin. Please, be my guest. You know, Joni (Mitchell) was not a philosopher of rock ’n’ roll. She didn’t, in my mind, meet that test,” he told the Times.
“Of Black artists — you know, Stevie Wonder, genius, right? I suppose when you use a word as broad as ‘masters,’ the fault is using that word. Maybe Marvin Gaye, or Curtis Mayfield? I mean, they just didn’t articulate at that level,” Wenner said.
In the interview, Wenner seemed to acknowledge he would face a backlash. “Just for public relations sake, maybe I should have gone and found one Black and one woman artist to include here that didn’t measure up to that same historical standard, just to avert this kind of criticism.”
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
Good one. I should have thought of Prince.
I probably would have had Brian Wilson near the top of any list. And though he may not be the most "articulate", Keith Richard before Mick, George Harrison or McCartney before Lennon and Eric Clapton before Springsteen ever entered my mind.
But look at all the money he made.
The R&RHOF is and always has been Jann Wenner’s trophy case. It’s not some objective erudite society.
It’s a club, and a snide and sycophantic one at that.
My chief Rock Hall Inductee question is “how big is your wake?” Or, take them at their own word: “ to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll.”
Take Tom Petty…ok, he had a few good songs, but he didn’t launch a genre, I never heard any other music cite him as an influence, and nobody copies him. Yet he’s in there.
There are scores of people like Petty in the Rock Hall like that, like Cheryl Crow who was inducted the same year as Missy Elliot who has had a MUCH bigger wake. I guess Jann likes these un-influential bands and performers. Which is why THE ROCK hall is largely a crock.
There is the 25-year rule for the Rock Hall which probably caused what you observed. As for the group you mentioned, Janice, Heart, and Joan Jett all get big YES answers to the wake query. Pat Benetar hasn’t been a massive musical influence IMHO but in the 80s many girl singers in my HS wanted to be her, and she sort of made rocking a cool thing for girls to do. She deserves to be in, as does Madonna even though I detest her as a human being but she launched a whole genre. As a small side note, a goodly amount of Zappa’s sound in the early to mid 1970s was Ruth Underwood’s vibes-she’s not in, but take her out of Inca Roads and it’s not the same.
As for Pink, she’s not on my musical rotation but I respect the influence and wake. She’s remained married to the same man for decades and that may be a strike against her in Wennerworld. I’d happily replace Randy Newman with her.
I’d rather spend a day at Bethel Woods than in Cleveland.
Actually many of them do. But RNR HOF has the NAME. It’s the HOF of record. RNR is a mishmash. That’s what makes it so fun.
No time to cover Rush, gotta interview Jerry every couple of months.
The reference to Madonna was simply that it’s called “the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” not the “skanky dance music Hall of Fame.”
Oh, and Madonna’s MUSICAL wake is non-existent. In fact, during the 1990s (between Like a Prayer and Ray of Light), I would describe her as merely a gay-worship star, not a music star.
The 25-year rule explains why Pink isn’t in.... but she’d better go in next!
Much as I dislike Madonna her wake is HUGE. She basically invented the pop diva, that most women in pop still follow today. Taylor Swift just had one of the biggest tours in history of tours and it’s all built on the Madonna model. Gaga, Katy Perry, SZA. It’s part of why I don’t like her, she killed women in rock and roll. We went from having Joan Jett and Pat Benetar and Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux to dozens of Madonna knock offs. But that’s still a massive wake.
Could not have happened to a bigger schmuck- good!!
Yup. On the one hand I enjoy seeing leftists like Wenner get a taste of their own medicine, especially at the hands of their political comrades. On the other hand, he is right here.
You’re mistaking fashion for music. Besides, Taylor Swift is the anti-Madonna. Fashion-wise at least, I’d agree with Katy Perry or Gaga. Music-wise, Katy Perry is much more like Paula Abdul and Lady Gaga is much more like Diana Ross.
>> It’s part of why I don’t like her, she killed women in rock and roll. We went from having Joan Jett and Pat Benetar and Debbie Harry and Siouxsie Sioux to dozens of Madonna knock offs. But that’s still a massive wake. <<
Yes, a wake of having DESTROYED rock music, not contributed to it. So why should the ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame put Madonna in it?
No I’m not. Swift ain’t the anti-Madonna fashionwise or music wise.
Madonna invented the pop diva that still rules female music today. That is the simple truth.
Wake is wake. Good wake, bad wake, it’s still a wake. Don’t be like Wenner. His snooty BS attitude to metal and prog have kept deserving bands out of the hall for decades. Just cause you don’t like the effect Madonna has had on music doesn’t mean she hasn’t had a massive effect and shouldn’t be in the hall. You really cannot tell the story of rock and roll, especially women in rock, without Madonna. And that’s really what the deciding factor should be.
Exactly the left hates fact based opinion or to much free speech.
Everyone must receive a trophy earned or not it has to look good.
First 10 years SHOULD have included Darlene Love.
There’s plenty of great white women and black musicians who have contributed to the music scene.
But Jann Wenner’s not talking about listening to ‘the music’ he’s talking about writing a book - interviews with interesting insights into the field - stuff worth reading about. He mentions Janis Joplin as an example of what would NOT be included - a woman lacking insights and interest - but definitely worth listening to.
Jann Wenner wrote a book - he wasn’t putting out an album of his favorite songs. Rolling Stone needs to get real.
Wow. He could have included Chuck Berry, whose guitar style was foundational to group after group. Berry was revered by the Beatles and Stones, and his lyrics—little slices of American life—applied to everyone, white and black, even though he grew up in segregation. Berry was so ahead of his time.
Tina Turner, Joni Mitchell, Janis Joplin, Patti Smith, Diana Ross, Bonnie Raitt, Carole King, Annie Lennox, Patti LaBelle, Alanis Morrisette, Linda Ronstadt, Grace Slick, Ronnie Spector—he could not see how ground-breakingly influential they were? I loathe Madonna, but she certainly pioneered the rock female stage show—Britney Spears, Beyonce, Katy Perry, and the several other arena-filling female acts followed her lead.
That said, I hate cancel culture and think the Hall of Fame should have published a scolding and he should have published an apology, however grudging; then he could be “retired” next year. Wenner is also a somewhat loathesome creature, but Wenner and the history and develooment of and rock’n’roll cannot be separated.
I know, right? England has tried twice to get rid of Churchill. People can be very stupid.
I’m assuming he’s liberal as all get out. But to not give credit to the black musicians that created the 60s - 80s music shows how dumb libs really are. Dylan? Jagger? Springsteen, really?
I was going to say that his grandfather was a Nazi or something, but I looked him up and found out that he isn’t at all related to the superrich Swedish Wenner-Gren family, as has been rumored.
I also found out that he’s now gay.
But it wasn’t enough to save him from this.
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