The Rock and Roll "Hall of Fame" is by far the biggest rip-off in the music business. Now, I put "Hall of Fame" in quotation marks for a reason: I don't consider it as such. I don't see how anyone can, considering the circumstances.
I don't understand how great bands that have been eligible for years have still not been inducted into the Hall. For those not in the know, an artist becomes eligible 25 years after their first release. This means that influential, ground-breaking bands like KISS and Chicago have been eligible since 1999 and 1992, respectively, and still don't have their signatures in the Hall.
Both bands had hits in multiple decades. What more convincing does the Hall need?
Chicago charted "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4" in 1970, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" in 1982, and "Here in My Heart" in 1997. These hits fall among dozens of others the band has had throughout the years, and the fact that the band is still touring after 40 years only adds to Chicago's impressiveness.
KISS broke through in 1974 with "Strutter" and quickly followed up with the classic anthem, "Rock and Roll All Nite." They even had hits in the 1980's during the non-makeup era, such as "Lick it Up" and "Heaven's on Fire." After reuniting with the original lineup and returning to their costumed alter-egos in the 1990's, they struck gold with "Psycho Circus," which reached number one on the U.S. Mainstream Rock charts.
Why, exactly, are these two great bands not yet inducted into the "Hall of Fame?" I believe it's because of the man in charge, Jann Wenner. Wenner faced some controversy following last year's induction due to the fact that the Dave Clark Five, not Grandmaster Flash, was really supposed to be honored. However, Wenner ignored this and inducted a rap act instead of the great British invasion group. This is by far the greatest travesty that Rock Hall has ever caused.
What Wenner ignored besides the rules was the failing health of DC5 lead vocalist Mike Smith. Smith was left almost completely paralyzed following an accident in 2003, and died in February of this year of complications from that accident. If Wenner had a caring bone in his body, he would have inducted the Dave Clark Five in 2007 - which would have given Smith one last hoorah before his death.
Unfortunately, as long as Wenner's pulling the strings in Cleveland, true rock fans will likely be left disappointed. Until the bands deserving of recognition are inducted, nothing the "Hall of Fame" does is about to make me smile.
RSS Feeds
Be the first to comment on this article!