The Pretenders? What? For a cover of Better Stop Sobbin'? For a cover of Red Red Wine? For a cover of I Got You Babe?
Rock and Roll PING! email Weegee to get on/off this list (or grab it yourself to PING the rest)
Posted on 12/13/2004 11:36:36 PM PST by weegee
NEW YORK (AP) -- Irish rockers U2, R&B singers The O'Jays and soul balladeer Percy Sledge are among five musical legends to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the foundation's 20th annual induction ceremony next year, the organization announced Monday.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation will hold its induction ceremony March 14 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.
U2, which became one of the planet's most popular bands in the 1980s with their megahit "The Joshua Tree," is still making the charts: Their November release, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," is the No. 2 album according to Billboard.
The O'Jays had eight No. 1 R&B hits during the 1970s and '80s, including "Love Train" and "Use Ta Be My Girl." Sledge will forever be associated with "When a Man Loves a Woman," one of the songs that made him a figure in deep Southern Soul in the late 1960s.
The Pretenders and blues guitarist Buddy Guy will also join the organization's Class of 2005.
The artists beat out an impressive list of nominees including Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, which would have been the first rap group to be inducted; "Centerfold" singers the J. Geils Band, and the late country singer Conway Twitty.
Also, Frank Barsalona and Seymour Stein will be inducted in the non-performer category.
Barsalona is credited with creating the first legitimate rock and roll booking agency. His roster included acts like Led Zepplin, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and The Who.
Stein, who is chairman and co-founder of Sire Records, is noted as one of the most successful executives in the recording industry. He is known for signing artists like Madonna, The Ramones and The Talking Heads.
Musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the nominations, which were announced in September. Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.
The Pretenders? What? For a cover of Better Stop Sobbin'? For a cover of Red Red Wine? For a cover of I Got You Babe?
Rock and Roll PING! email Weegee to get on/off this list (or grab it yourself to PING the rest)
And Lynyrd Skynyrd is still kept out of the Hall, yet again.
Skynard and the Coop (although they borrow his stuff).
Maybe they're being honored for performing Rush's theme song! :-)
That song was very well received the one time I saw them play. We need to get Rush to make mention of it...
I'm willing to credit him with the band's success over passed over acts (Sex Pistols and Grandmaster Flash) who were nominated and had much more influence on punk (Fab Five Freddy even appeared on a Blondie track).
What did Chrissy Hynde do? Tried to marry Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten so that she could remain in England. Later dated Ray Davies of the Kinks.
And this does not even take into consideration the bands/performers who have not even been nominated.
Nothing but a pat on the back for selling albums is all this is.
Well, duh. :)
A performer who influenced a lot of other bands to pick up instruments but never had much chart success is more deserving than the "chart toppers". What the hell is Carly Simon doing as a rock and roll inductee?
Did she rock? Or was she a part of the industry in the 1970s that actively sought to kill rock and roll (as they tried in the 1950s, 1960s, 190s, and even now).
Look at the Grammys. At 12 years of age in 1976, I watched Starland Vocal Band win a Grammy and knew even then that those awards (like this one) are meaningless. I'm a huge Steely Dan fan, and I'm simply amazed that they were added.
Oh, and sadly, I have to disagree with your Pretenders assessment, at least as far as my taste goes. I have their first album and I think it's quite good. The rest of her career is admittedly spotty.
I've seen the Pretenders live once. It is not to say that they outright suck. The question is "Should they be in the Hall of Fame when there are many other better performers, both dead and alive, who are not?"
Elligility is one thing. Whether they deserve to be there is quite another.
Who exactly would you rather see in there?
I know how you feel. The other day I was listening to a bootleg of Ascension, the band that Fred, Michael and Dennis started after the MC5 broke up. They do a SMOKIN' cover of "Get Ready" by the Temptations, but when I Googled "Get Ready", the Proclaimers were the only ones who came up. I grabbed their version on Kazaa just for the hell of it, and almost barfed!!!
they don't make 'em like the used to...
Yes
Rush
Genesis
Kansas
King Crimson
Notice a pattern?
But to satisfy P.C., obscure R&B acts like Percy Sledge get in every year. What a load of crap.
Yes
Todd Rundgren
The Guess Who
Lynyrd Skynyrd
Deep Purple
The Hollies
Black Sabbath
ABBA (don't laugh!)
Rush
Van Halen
KISS
Patsy Cline
Frank Sinatra (again, don't laugh!)
Neil Diamond (yet again, don't laugh - he's a great songwriter
... etc.
Frank Sinatra was among the anti-rock and roll crowd. It would be sweet revenge to induct him.
Not to mention the New Colony Six and Ral Donner.
Clearly you're not a fan of the Pretenders. However, I think you're ignoring a significant influence that Chrissie Hynde had, namely on all the female rock and roll that came after her. Ask any grrrl rocker of the last 25 years who her influences are and Chrissie will be in the top two, and I'm hard pressed to think of the other.
Influence is often a key selling point for Hall induction
Debbie Harry (of Blondie) and Poison Ivy (of the Cramps) were both at CBGBs long before Chrissy.
Even The Velvet Underground convinced women they could go dark and rock.
There were a number of female rock and roll guitarists in the 1950s (one even did a tv commercial with Brian Setzer in the 1990s).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.