The nominees list is out for this year’s class of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and it’s a pleasantly eclectic group. Among the first-time nominees are Blondie (left), Cat Stevens, British-invasion pop combo the Dave Clark Five, pioneering Tex-Mex rockers the Sir Douglas Quintet, ’60s blues-rockers the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and Miles Davis. (Okay, Davis wasn’t a rocker, but his massively influential 1970 jazz-rock fusion LP Bitches Brew by itself would merit him a place in the Hall.)
Past nominees who may finally get their due include Black Sabbath, John Mellencamp, the Stooges, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Patti Smith, soul man Joe Tex, the Sex Pistols, Chic, the J. Geils Band, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, which would be the first hip-hop act to be inducted.
To be eligible, you have to have released your first recording 25 years ago, though curiously, no one who debuted in 1980 made this year’s cut — not X, the Minutemen, Echo and the Bunnymen, or the Feelies, to name a few. Still, there are a lot of worthy names on the list.
Do you approve, PopWatchers, or are there nominees you’d like to see replaced? If so, who belongs on the list instead?
KISS has influenced so many musicians to pick up a guitar or drumsticks and start playing, that they deserve an induction for that alone. But I know it’ll never happen. And they know it.
I love on of Chicago’s members’ comments when asked why he thought they had yet to be nominated. He said he didn’t know, but they must just be overqualified! Priceless.
What about Carly Simon?
For god’s sake, Blondie before Carly????? Come on!
Where is Tow Waits?? How hard does a guy have to work before his work is recognized?
It’s fair to say that Blondie and Miles Davis are safe bets and that (linked in the piece) article suggests Cat Stevens has a good shot (is this for political reasons, if it is I’m game!). Here’s hoping the other two slots go to Black Sabbath and Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five.
Who’s missing Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Thin Lizzy, Sugar Hill Gang, XTC, Love, Zombies, Jonathan Richman, this is getting crazy. Perhaps they should induct ten as apose to five a year?
Blondie are legends. They will always be one of my favorites.
Grand Master Flash who? If I haven’t even heard of them why are they nominated? And Carly Simon should definitely be in there before Blondie – although both are qualifiers.
Carly Simon is awful and Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five were one of the first recorded rap groups. They recorded “The Message” and “White Lines” two of the most significant singles in music history!
Where the hell is Van Halen? Ok, they’ve fallen off the face of the earth the last 10 years (then again, so have the rest of the nominees on this list), but nobody since Hendrix has influenced the guitar more than Eddie Van Halen.
The Waits omission is criminal. How about The Cure? Peter Gabriel? Squeeze?
Love ‘em or hate ‘em there is no denying the Moody Blues impact on rock and roll. Putting aside all their hit songs and albums, they should be in for their bringing classical, symphonic music into rock and roll music alone.
Jonny Ramone had a far more wide reaching and profound effect on how to play the electric guitar than Eddie VanHalen. P.S: The Moody Blues “brought classical influence to Rock And Roll”? Well than perhaps we should pelt them with copies of Metallica’s S&M in ‘homage’ to there accomplishments.
I agree, leaving out Peter Gabriel, the Moody Blues and Tom Waits for a band like Blondie is criminal.
As for the Cure and Van Halen, they’ll get in one day but have to wait for 25 years to go by since their first release -and they aren’t there yet.
Props to them for including Miles Davis. His stuff from ’69-’75 is wicked. Sounds like Prince being devoured Hendrix…
What is so wrong about Blondie? They trancended punk and pop, they released the first commercially sucessful rap song (Rapture), and they had more influence on No Doubt than Madonna (actually, I think No Doubt IS Blondie.) This is the “Hall of Fame” not the “Hall of the Innovative or Gifted” it’s a popularity contest. You want innovative? Go to EMP!
The B-52′s breakthrough album came out in 1979… they’ve been overlooked way too long… their influence on artists like Nirvana, Sleater-Kinney, Offspring, and many others is undeniable.
Actually, Van Halen’s first album was released in 1978, so they’ve been eligible for two years now. Their time will come; I have no doubt.