By Peter Long Another year, another Hall of Fame screwing up something important. Now, I know what you’re thinking, and no, I’m not talking about Alanis Morisette’s sixth straight snub from the Canadian Music Hall of Fame (Isn’t THAT ironic!). I’m talking about those who were once again not inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame, and there are some glaring omissions.
As if Rolling Stone’s bias isn’t present enough in the induction process (Mr. Douchey-First-Name himself Jann Wenner, founder and editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone, is the chairman of the RnR HoF Foundation for God’s sake…and I’m pretty sure Bono is the treasurer…I could be wrong), Donovan was inducted this year, ladies and gentleman. EFFING DONOVAN.
The Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame’s original intention was to induct those artists who were not only influential to the genre, but also influential to music in general (REMINDER: ABBA and Steely Dan are enshrined in the Hall, but I love the Dan as much as anyone). This year they somewhat returned to that principle. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were the fore fathers of the alternative movements and more-or-less created the forgettable rap rock genre, The Beastie Boys brought hip-hop even further into the mainstream and The Faces were one of the most infamous rock n’ roll bands of their generation who were overshadowed by their frontman (Rod Stewart). But, there are certain artists (no, not Alanis) that need to get their due sometime soon.
Here is a list of seven artists who need to be inducted into the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. Order of importance goes from the lowest number to the highest number:
7. Deep Purple- Sure, they wrote “Smoke on the Water,” but they released a string of albums form the late-60’s to the early-70’s that were classic and heavily influential on the metal genre. They are often forgotten as pioneers of heavy metal when in reality, it should go 1) Black Sabbath, 2) Led Zeppelin, 3) Deep Purple.
6. Cheap Trick- The creators of pop rock. Without early hardcore (Minor Threat, Bad Brains), 80’s independent rock (Husker Du, Minutemen) and Cheap Trick, we don’t have the generation of alternative artists that saw a renaissance in the 1990’s or the pop punk bands of today.
5. Chic- One of the earliest disco groups, wrote “Good Times,” sampled by the Sugarhill Gang on their song “Rapper’s Delight,“ and created hip-hop. They should be in.
4. Black Flag- The creators of hardcore. The hardest of hard. As was the case with Cheap Trick, without Black Flag, we wouldn’t have the 90’s rock that we know and love, specifically Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
3. Rush- Without Rush, bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Metallica and Rage Against the Machine would cease to exist. These Canadians have always been bullied by Rolling Stone and have never received coverage in the publication, hence completely defeating their chances of getting in.
2. Carole King- Not only did King create one of the best pop albums of all-time (1971’s Tapestry), but she wrote “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” for The Shirelles, “You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)” for Aretha Franklin and “Pleasant Valley Sunday” for The Monkees. This woman has played a pivotal role in rock n’ roll history both as a songwriter and a performer, yet hasn’t received her due.
1. Kiss- Kiss’ absence is exhibit A for the Hall of Fame’s status as the “What Critics Think You Should Listen To Hall of Fame.” Not only was Kiss influential to metal bands such as Pantera, but they were an influence on anyone who walked onto a stage, most notably Lady Gaga and Madonna.
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