Of course, this goes back to the question of why it took so long for these two performers to get the call into the Hall. I know every Hall of Fame in the world is going to have one or two names slip through the cracks, but the Rock & Roll Hall seems to have more questionable late additions than most. I can't help but wonder if the name of the place is creating a giant level of bias. Even his most die-hard supporters will agree that while Randy Newman may be a lot of things, Rock & Roll is not one of them. I know the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn't supposed to just honor rock musicians (mostly because the definition of what constitutes 'rock' music can vary wildly from one person to another) but I can see why putting it on the marquee would cause confusion. It is like when people forget that the Basketball Hall of Fame is not just for professional basketball. There is a Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, which may lead some people to think every genre has its own Hall, but that isn't the case. The Hall in Cleveland is pretty much supposed to be all-encompassing, but so far they haven't been doing a very good job of it. I'm all for giving the rock guys their due, but not if you are going to ignore other worthy musicians to do it.
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Hall Call
A few weeks ago I mentioned the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominations had come out. Well, the ballots have finally been counted and this year's class has been announced. As most people expected, Rush was finally voted in after a long wait (too long, if you ask their fans) but after that the inductees were as surprising and eclectic as ever. This year's class will also include Heart, Public Enemy, Albert King, Randy Newman, Donna Summer and producers Lou Adler and Quincy Jones. As I said when they made the list of final nominees, I never felt like Rush was a first-ballot kind of band but they should have gotten in well before now. That being said, Rush finally getting inducted is not what caught my eye at this news. Reading the members of this year's class I couldn't help but wonder how Quincy Jones wasn't already in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I mean, the guy worked with Sinatra and Michael Jackson - he should have gotten in by association well before this point. I feel the same way about Randy Newman. Some people say his songs all sound too similar, but since when is a distinctive voice a problem? Even if you don't like the music he creates for his albums you simply have to respect the his trophy case - 20 Oscar nominations (2 wins) as well as 3 Emmys to go with his 5 Grammys. You won't find many people with that much musical talent.
Of course, this goes back to the question of why it took so long for these two performers to get the call into the Hall. I know every Hall of Fame in the world is going to have one or two names slip through the cracks, but the Rock & Roll Hall seems to have more questionable late additions than most. I can't help but wonder if the name of the place is creating a giant level of bias. Even his most die-hard supporters will agree that while Randy Newman may be a lot of things, Rock & Roll is not one of them. I know the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn't supposed to just honor rock musicians (mostly because the definition of what constitutes 'rock' music can vary wildly from one person to another) but I can see why putting it on the marquee would cause confusion. It is like when people forget that the Basketball Hall of Fame is not just for professional basketball. There is a Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, which may lead some people to think every genre has its own Hall, but that isn't the case. The Hall in Cleveland is pretty much supposed to be all-encompassing, but so far they haven't been doing a very good job of it. I'm all for giving the rock guys their due, but not if you are going to ignore other worthy musicians to do it.
Of course, this goes back to the question of why it took so long for these two performers to get the call into the Hall. I know every Hall of Fame in the world is going to have one or two names slip through the cracks, but the Rock & Roll Hall seems to have more questionable late additions than most. I can't help but wonder if the name of the place is creating a giant level of bias. Even his most die-hard supporters will agree that while Randy Newman may be a lot of things, Rock & Roll is not one of them. I know the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn't supposed to just honor rock musicians (mostly because the definition of what constitutes 'rock' music can vary wildly from one person to another) but I can see why putting it on the marquee would cause confusion. It is like when people forget that the Basketball Hall of Fame is not just for professional basketball. There is a Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, which may lead some people to think every genre has its own Hall, but that isn't the case. The Hall in Cleveland is pretty much supposed to be all-encompassing, but so far they haven't been doing a very good job of it. I'm all for giving the rock guys their due, but not if you are going to ignore other worthy musicians to do it.
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