Free Republic

Five performing acts will be inducted into the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame tomorrow at a ceremony at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel (Fuse TV, 8:30 p.m.). One rocked insanely hard: punk pioneers the Stooges. Two rocked more subtly, but left their mark: British Invasion band the Hollies and arty Genesis. Jimmy Cliff didn’t rock at all: He sang reggae, but the Hall of Fame has never had a problem stretching its boundaries. Which explains its otherwise mind-boggling embrace of ABBA. Meanwhile, musicians and bands who meet the Hall of Fame’s eligibility criteria (at least 25 years elapsed...

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Miller Brewing is celebrating the "50th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll" with eight commemorative beer cans that feature Rolling Stone cover shots of Elvis Presley, Blondie and others. What's missing, some say, is a black artist. Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University, called the absence "beyond conspicuous," because black artists often are credited with inventing rock 'n' roll. "It would be like doing a set of cans of six great Impressionist painters and not including any French people on it," he said. "It leaves out an enormous amount." The promotion, which ties rock's...

Posted on Thu, Jun. 19, 2003 Spurned, with a twist By Tom Infield Inquirer Staff Writer ATLANTIC CITY - Chubby Checker had the gray heads bopping in the aisles the other night during the first of four sold-out concerts at Caesars casino. If it were up to his audience, mostly children of the 1960s, there is no question that the King of the Twist (El Rey del Twist, to his Latino fans) would have taken his place long ago in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. "Without a doubt, he belongs," said Mike Reichert, 51, of Pasadena, Md. "I...