2023 Rock & Roll HOF screechfest

Missy Elliot is incredibly respected within rap, but I wonder if she has the mainstream appeal to be elected.

 

The only ones I’d vote for are Zevon, Willie and the Spinners
Saw Willie at New Orleans Jazz Fest
Johnny Cash is in. Willie should be too
Saw the Spinners at the 300th anniversary of Detroit concert
They were great but it wasn’t easy behind the Temptations and Four tops in the Motown pecking order
Proved their greatness when Thom Bell got ahold of them
They should get in for this alone

 

Fuck you guys. Now my YouTube recommendations are filled with Sheryl Crow songs.

 

It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got.​

 

Willie Nelson had two (2) songs higher than No. 20 on the main Billboard chart. We gonna put Deion Sanders in Cooperstown too?

 

The one weak link I see in the candidates is unfortunately Missy. She might be a Veterans Committee pick. She "featured" on a lot of the hits credited to her and her signature hit "Get Ur Freak On" topped out at No. 7.

JD/NO had a few U.S. hits (more as NO but people like me have later discovered the brilliance of JD) but admittedly they are way huger in Britain and Europe. But then again, Depeche Mode are in, so JD/NO should be too. They actually played instruments. (At least Hookie did.)

 

Sam Phillips recorded Johnny Cash at the Sun studio in Memphis in 1955, along with Elvis, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. He's a pioneer of rock, just like Louis Jordan and Ike Turner. Nelson lacks that standing.

 

I honestly wouldn’t have issue with anyone in this group getting in. That’s pretty rare.

I’ve contended for a few years now that Joy Division/New Order were the Hall’s biggest oversight. Glad they are at least nominated now.

Of this group I’d vote

JD/NO
Soundgarden
White Stripes
Iron Maiden
Warren Zevon
Willie Nelson

And a maybe on Sheryl Crow and Kate Bush.

I’ve never liked RATM but they probably have a decent case. And I’ll leave Missy Elliott to the judgment of others — she’s just totally out of my wheelhouse.

 

My personal belief is “rock and roll” is whatever music gets young people excited. If you have enough young people then and now, you become a candidate.

Willie Nelson? Ive never seen any ground swell evidence that massive amounts of teenagers listen to Willie Nelson in any way. When I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, he was considered lame by my many peer groups. Up there with Kenny Rogers type lame.

That being said, his influence on “rock” musicians can’t be underscored enough. He was the driving force behind Farm Aid, which back in the 1980s pulled together a shit ton of wildly popular “rock and roll” musicians. His massive use of marijuana makes him some kind of alt hero. Fucker tours non stop and seems like a genuinely fun guy to be around. His upcoming birthday concert is a who’s who of musicians.

That’s more rock and roll than a lot of actual “rock and rollers.”

 

The following HOF acts also had two or fewer songs surpass No. 20 on the Hot 100: Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix Experience, Metallica, Pink Floyd, Miles Davis. Pearl Jam had only three. The Who had eight top 20 songs but only one top 10, and that song ("I Can See for Miles") barely cracked the top 10 at No. 9. Sheryl Crow had only seven songs get higher than No. 20 and only three top 10s -- needing songwriting help on all of them -- and I see a whole lot of people here talking her up as if she was this massively influential performer.

I'm going to guess there are a whole lot of inductees who had zero top 20s.

You can argue that Willie's music never was the Webster's definition of rock 'n roll, and you'd be right (non-rock HOFers Miles Davis, Whitney Houston, NWA and Johnny Cash would like a word, however). But his achievements in music -- his breadth as a songwriter (for himself and many others), his rebellion against Nashville's dominance of the country music scene in the 1970s, his activism -- make him a no-brainer, IMO.

 

So does Dolly Parton. She’s in

 

I was in Winnipeg one night in 2007 or 2008 when Maiden was playing a show there. I found myself on Portage walking behind a couple of guys wearing “Iron Maiden Tour 1986” t-shirts that were quite obviously that old. I was most impressed by the fact that they still fit.

As for Sheryl Crow, I think she’s deserving. I also think this is among her best work: