Just revisiting a conversation from long ago about the so-called Rock
And Roll Hall Of Fame. Remember what Buddy said about it 7 years ago
in this very forum:
"This is my problem: EVERYBODY is getting into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall
Of
Fame."
Well, here's an article by somebody who seems to share our opinion of
this institution and the uppity-ups in charge of it.
Shawn
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Rolling Stone Magazine Hits a Sour Note Over Hall of Fame Nominees
Sunday, September 30, 2007
By Roger Friedman
To anyone who's still reading or buying Rolling Stone: It's time to
boycott Jann Wenner's flagship magazine.
I've never participated in a boycott - not of lettuce or grapes or
anything else. But enough is enough. After the announcement late
Friday of the nominees' ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,
there's only thing to do: Hit publisher Wenner, who controls the Rock
Hall, where it hurts.
If you love Rock and Roll, stop buying Rolling Stone until the
tremendous insults of the Hall of Fame are corrected.
Wenner's nominating committee consists largely of his current and
former employees from Rolling Stone (Nathan Brackett, David Fricke,
Jim Henke, Joe Levy, Brian Keizer, Toure, and Anthony DeCurtis). But
they have little say over who really is inducted.
Last year, in a story reported by this column exclusively, Wenner
threw out a vote in which the classic British invasion group Dave
Clark Five was voted in and changed it for another round that favored
rappers Grandmaster Flash.
As one insider from the Hall has maintained, "Once Ahmet Ertegun died,
Jann felt like he could run wild." The legendary co founder of
Atlantic Records was considered the only person who could control
Wenner. He died in 2006.
The Dave Clark Five incident has repercussions, however. I'm told that
consequently, Wenner was made to meet Clark after I broke that story
last March. The group now is guaranteed entry, although it's a
bittersweet win. They are probably not, to paraphrase one of its hits,
"Glad All Over."
But now this year's choices are a complete affront to fans of Rock and
Roll Hall. And to show how much Wenner controls what's happening, the
exclusive announcement was made on Rolling Stone's Web site.
If you're still reading or buying Rolling Stone, it's time to stop.
This year's ballot shows that the Hall has skipped over the seminal
'70s for the worthless '80s. The committee has chosen dance music over
rock. They've all but ignored the pioneers who influenced the genre in
favor of non sequiturs.
The choices: dance group Chic, hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa,
mediocre Springsteen wannabe John Mellencamp (a Wenner crony who's
lost out on many tries), white rappers the Beastie Boys, disco queen
Donna Summer and, of course, Madonna.
Among "older" names: the aforementioned DC5, instrumentalists the
Ventures and Leonard Cohen.
Here's the idea: that these names should enter the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame before such historically important and influential acts as
Iggy Pop and the Stooges, "fifth Beatle" Billy Preston or performer/
producer Todd Rundgren.
They aren't the only ones.
Major groups the Hall voters deem "not hip": The Moody Blues (simply
for "Days of Future Passed"), Chicago (for its first two seminal
albums). Hall & Oates, Yes, Genesis, J Geils Band, Alice Cooper and
KISS also are names often mentioned by critics.
Also left wanting: stars such as Carly Simon and Linda Ronstadt, who
were mainstays of Rolling Stone in the '70s, have been iced out.
Carole King was inducted only as a writer with ex-husband Gerry
Goffin. Her achievement as the creator of Tapestry, for years the best-
selling album of all time, has been ignored.
Neil Sedaka ("Calendar Girl," "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do") is not in
the Hall of Fame. Neither is Neil Diamond ("I'm a Believer," "Sweet
Caroline"). That's right. They only wrote half the hits that modern
groups cover or sample. Go figure.
The late Laura Nyro, who also wrote a dozen or so hits, is absent, as
is Leon Russell, whose songs "This Masquerade" and "A Song for You"
are among the most covered by pop acts. He also was a member of
Spector's legendary band, as were other nonmembers Glen Campbell and
Sonny Bono.
Then there are the R&B performers who remain in the cold, such as Tina
Turner, Dionne Warwick, Motown legends Mary Wells, the Marvelettes and
the Spinners, not to mention Ben E. King ("Stand by Me" and dozens of
hits on Atlantic), Stax Records legends Carla and Rufus Thomas, Phil
Spector star Darlene Love, Joe Tex, Al Green and, of course, Chubby
Checker, whom the Hall denies over and over again despite his
invention of rock's greatest dance hit, "The Twist."
Neither John Fogerty, Lou Reed, Peter Gabriel, Ringo Starr, Tom Waits,
Steve Winwood, Diana Ross, Steve Miller nor Sonny Burgess - the man
behind Elvis Presley -is in the Hall of Fame.
OK, just so we're straight on why Rolling Stone must be boycotted. It
wants the Beastie Boys before Randy Newman, The Hollies, Tom Jones or
Mitch Ryder's "Devil in the Blue Dress."
Controversial Cat Stevens also stays in the cold despite his dozen or
so hits and his influence on singer-songwriters of his era. And I
haven't even raised the idea of Poco, Aaron Neville, the Turtles, Gram
Parsons and hitmakers Three Dog Night, whose members made hits for
dozens of new songwriters including Harry Nilsson, John Hiatt, Jimmy
Cliff, Hoyt Axton, Paul Williams and Randy Newman.
The lists go on and on. You can see more names at www.futurerockhall.com.
The Hall has caused its own problems over the years. It no longer
includes three categories that the Hall introduced, then eliminated:
non performers, side men and early influences. The nominating
committee, with a couple of exceptions who are obviously ignored, is
simply too young and uneducated in popular music history to select
entries in those groupings.
It's a pathetic, ridiculous situation and it must be stopped.
Of the new crop, I don't have much to say that's positive. Madonna is
a steamroller because of the cult of personality. She's not a rocker,
she has a thin voice and she doesn't write her own material. But she's
a force of nature.
There's no stopping Madonna when she wants something. Chances are good
she won't bring Steve Bray, Patrick Leonard, William Orbit and all her
writers and producers to the stage. They are Madonna.
Chic is a fun idea with great songs, but it was really producer-writer
Nile Rodgers and his partner Bernard Summers who made it work as a
dance group. Rodgers should be in as a hugely successful producer of
music by David Bowie, Ross and others. Summers can be thanked. Chic,
however, is not rock.
The rest are totally off base given the above list. Summer was a disco
act. For her to get in before Ronstadt is a joke. Mellencamp at least
plays rock. But he's a minor note in the genre's history.
Afrika Bambaataa and the Beastie Boys: Are they kidding? Even the
latter must be laughing. They had one big hit, "You've Got to Fight
for Your Right to Party." The former, while I'm sure quite lovely, is
a record-scratcher with a great name. Each of these belongs in a Rap
Hall of Fame.
And it's not that I am against hip-hop or rap artists in the Hall of
Fame. But Run-DMC is the obvious choice for an act in that genre that
crossed into rock. Apart from its own music, Run-DMC's partnership
with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way" brought hip-hop to a new level and
standard. No one would argue with its inclusion.
Of the two senior acts aside from the DC5, the Ventures probably are a
good idea. The Hall lacks instrumentalists. But Cohen should be in as
a writer. His morose style never once crossed into rock, and he knows
it.
Diamond, Sedaka, and Simon have among them dozens more actual rock
hits as writers and performers. Come on. And Cohen's songs have not
nearly had the same impact on rock as those by Jimmy Webb. He's also
been snubbed by Wenner's crew.
By the way: The Hall of Fame Foundation, which Wenner runs with toadie
Joel Peresman, has nothing to do with the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame
Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. "Jann treats the museum like a toy and has
no respect for Terry Stewart," an insider says. Stewart runs the
museum with no regard for Wenner's exclusions.
Last year the Hall claimed to have given away only $158,968 of its $12
million war chest to needy musicians. It gave $56,236 to the museum to
maintain its own archives. The museum must raise its own money.
Peresman is thought to get between $300,000 - what the previous
director was paid - and $500,000.
New board members include wealthy businessmen Craig Hatkoff (co-
founder of the Tribeca Film Festival) and Dirk Ziff (heir to a media
fortune), nice guys who have no connection to the music business or
rock and roll at all. They're Wenner's friends. Famed rocker Jay Z -
ha ha - also has joined.
Former inductees to the Hall, by the way, must buy their own tickets
to the annual Waldorf Astoria dinner. Tickets cost $3,500. Few, if
any, show up anymore for the big jam session at the end of the night.
(These selections for 2008 are terrible, but they're just the
beginning, too, of what's going to be a weird ride, thanks to the new
generation. To wit: Kanye West is scheduled to be honored by the
Chicago branch of the Recording Academy soon.
This means that other artists will have to perform a tribute to him by
performing his music. Only: He has no music. West samples existing
records. So someone will have to sample a sample to praise him. It's
sad.
So: I don't know anyone who buys or reads Rolling Stone, but someone
must since Wenner Media seems to make money. It can't all be Us
Weekly. Until real rock is served by the Hall of Fame, please don't
buy Rolling Stone or click on any of the ads on its Web site. Then
maybe Wenner will get the message that no one can take his Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame seriously anymore.
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