Rock Hall Nominates Twelve For Possible Induction

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame today announced the names of twelve artists who are under consideration for induction.

Only two artists who were eligible for the first time this year were nominated, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and LL Cool J. Skipped over where first timers such as the Cult, the Flaming Lips, Nick Cave, the Pet Shop Boys, Soul Asylum and Whitney Houston.

Five artists who have been eligible for up to 20 years but were never nominated make the list, led by the Hollies who were first able to be named in 1989. Other long term first timers are Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, KISS, and Laura Nyro. Second time nominees include the Chantels (who have been eligible since the very first class in 1983), ABBA, Darlene Love and Donna Summer. Up for their eighth time are the Stooges.

Five of the twelve nominated artists will make the cut into the hall. The inductees will be announced in January after a vote by over 500 musicians and music professionals with the induction ceremony set for March 15, 2010.

• ABBA (Second nomination, First eligible in 1998, Previously nominated in 2003) - The most successful group of the 70's and one of the most successful groups worldwide in music history, ABBA was only mildly popular in the United States where many of the voters reside. The combination of their pop sound and the fact that similar groups rarely made the grade (Ace of Base being an exception) could mean that voters don't take the nomination seriously.
  

• Chantels (Second nomination, First eligible in 1983, Previously nominated in 2002) - While the Chantels don't have the name recognition of the Chiffons, the Shangri-Las or other popular girl groups, they had a definite influence on music by being one of the first all female vocal groups to break into a male dominated style. They are best known for the 1958 hit Maybe and 1961's Look in My Eyes. They should be in as some of the groups they influenced have made it, but they will most likely be passed over for bigger names.
  

• Jimmy Cliff (First nomination, First eligible in 1992) - Cliff is one of the great artists to come out of Jamaica, bringing reggae to a worldwide audience, first in 1970 with the hit Wonderful World Beautiful People and, in 1975, with the soundtrack to The Harder They Come. His superb songwriting (The Harder They Come, Many Rivers to Cross, Sitting in Limbo, You Can Get It If You Really Want It) not only influenced a whole genre but were also covered by hundreds of artists. It just may be time for the Hall to recognize a second influential Jamaican artist.
  

• Genesis (First nomination, First eligible in 1993) - Genesis is a bit of an enigma. Who are you voting for? The art rock group of the Peter Gabriel era? The hit makers of the 80's? It has obviously been a problem for the nominating committee who took 16 years to give the group their first chance and it may work against them during the vote. Those casting ballots need to remember that a core group of musicians stayed with the group throughout, producing great thinking mans music at the start and changing with the times to become one of the biggest artists of the 80's. Still, does Genesis belong in before other art-rock innovators like the Moody Blues?
  

• Hollies (First nomination, First eligible in 1989) - It really is a shame that this is the Hollies' first nomination. Here's a group that was unique in the British Invasion with their ultra-tight harmonies and their wide range of styles. Over the course of twenty years, the group touched on bubblegum pop (Bus Stop, On a Carousel), rock (Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress), sophisticated adult contemporary (He Ain't Heavy (He's My Brother), The Air That I Breathe) and still had time to make one of the very best Springsteen covers (Sandy). Numerous personnel changes over the years may make it hard for voters to focus on the group as a single entity but, of the many British artists who hit America in the 60's, the Hollies have to be considered among the very best musically.
  

• KISS (First nomination, First eligible in 1999) - There will be many happy people in the world tonight. KISS fans have been complaining for a decade that their boys were not nominated for the hall. While their music may not have been overly innovative, they put together a huge and loyal fan base through their showmanship (with quite a bit of masterful marketing thrown in). As the Rock Hall site says, "Few bands short of The Beatles inspired more kids to pick up the guitar than KISS. With their signature make-up, explosive stage show and anthems like Rock and Roll All Night and Detroit Rock City, they are the very personification of rock stars." Still, there is a long held bias against the group that they were all show with little to give musically, so it's doubtful they get in on their first chance.

• LL Cool J (Nominated in first year of eligibility) - Let the arguing begin! "Rap does not belong in the Rock Hall of Fame!" There are views for and against that statement, but there is little argument that LL Cool J was a major influence on a generation of rappers, splitting time between classic fast delivery rap and a cool romantic style. He also went on to show the world that rap artists are not all thugs on the street with his forays into acting on TV and in film. Rap music has been one of the dominant styles of the last quarter century and has been an influence in some rock circles. LL Cool J should be recognized for his major contribution.
  

• Darlene Love (Second nomination, First eligible in 1988, Previously nominated in 1999) - Love was arguably THE voice of Philles Records and Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, singing lead for the Crystals, Bob B. Soxx and the Blue Jeans and under her own name. The gospel infused huge voice was able to stand out over the chaotic background of Spector's productions and, when the sound started to die out, Love was able to change with the times, still recording today and performing her yearly Christmas shows. Even so, is a big voice enough to gain membership among Rock's elite?
  

• Laura Nyro (First nomination, First eligible in 1992) - During the late-60's, it was next to impossible to look at a music chart and not see one or (most times) more songs written by Laura Nyro. And When I Die, Stoned Soul Picnic, Wedding Bell Blues, Eli's Coming and many more are the soundtrack of people's lives who grew up during that time, yet most wouldn't recognize Nyro's name. It's a shame, too, as Nyro was so much more than just a songwriter. Her albums, which mainly had a cult following, were filled with soulful music that should have found her a place on the radio. The question is whether the voters will see Nyro as an all-around talent or pigeonhole her as just a composer of hits.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers (Nominated in first year of eligibility) -This one may be a no brainer. The Chili Peppers have not only been hugely successful over the last 25 years, but their sound has been a major influence on the up and coming artists of the time. It was their innovative combination of funk and punk that propelled them into the commercial stratosphere starting with 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Add in their wild live shows and you have a combination that would not only keep their fans coming back for more, but would also win over the critics and the establishment (three Grammy Awards).
  

• Stooges (Eighth nomination, First eligible in 1994, Previously nominated in 1997, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2009) -What is it about the Stooges that keeps getting them nominated but never elected? They were one of the main artists that brought punk into the forefront and should be recognized for that alone; however, there is also an underlying current that, in a business that thrives on the outrageous, the Stooges may have pushed the envelope too far. Still, if the Rock Hall is really about those that were innovative and influential, then there has to be a place for the Stooges.
  

• Donna Summer (Second nomination, First eligible in 1999, Previously nominated in 2008) - Poor Donna Summer. Being labeled the Queen of Disco is probably the reason nobody takes her career seriously. They overlook the fact that she was THE star of a major genre of music. They forget that her Love to Love You Baby, with production by Giorgio Moroder and Pete Bellotte, was a major sea change in the budding disco sound. They ignore that, while almost every other disco star is playing the oldies circuit, Summer is still able to put songs on the top of the Dance Club charts, 30 years after her sound was supposedly dead. There isn't much chance that she'll be elected (much like the equally deserving Chic who keeps getting passed over), but there is little doubt that she was an innovator.

Our predictions are, come January, the new members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis and Darlene Love, with an outside chance that the Stooges will finally make it in.