The Rock and Roll Gall of Fame will announce new nominations this Wednesday. Then there’ll be a vote and the wrong people will get in and the right people forgotten.
It’s a tradition.
Who’s still not in after all these years? Chubby Checker. This is really a black eye for the Hall. I don’t care if he was the 15th person to record “The Twist.” The fact is, he had a hit twice with it, in 1961 and 1963. He carried the flag for rock and roll. It’s time.
There are plenty of women still waiting including Cher, Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, and Carla Thomas with her late father, Rufus. All of them should be in by now.
Cyndi Lauper is younger than those women, but she’s been eligible since 2009. She has classic rock hits and won a Tony Award. Her importance to human rights advocacy is enormous. Let’s go already.
Neil Sedaka: he’s really the only one from the Brill Building era not inducted. His songs like “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” and “Laughter in the Rain,” not to mention “Love Will Keep Us Together.” are evidence of his importance. I’ll bet Elton John, who revived Neil’s career in 1975, would come and do the induction. What are waiting for?
This year’s rock nominee should be The B52s. Music, fashion, art, memorable songs that were hits– they’re a cinch.
My other “rock” choice would be Sting, as a solo artist. Already inducted with the Police, Sting has had enormous solo career since 1986. Tons of hits, incredibly eclectic musically, wildly successful, amazing philanthropist. Plus, Paul McCartney said in an interview in recent years that the one song he wished he’d written was “Fields of Gold.” That should be enough.
And there are still lists and lists of names: Tommy James and the Shondells, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Stevie Winwood, Marianne Faithfull, Patti Labelle and the whole group, and a raft of influential R&B acts from the late Mary Wells, to The Spinners and many, many more…
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