Last month Mp3.tv reported that U2, The Pretenders, The O'Jays, Percy Sledge and blues legend Buddy Guy were inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Mp3.tv had a chance to visit the Rock Hall in Cleveland last September. We were in awe as we walked through the museum, which features exhibits from nearly every influential artist that has existed since the dawn of rock and roll. Surprisingly, the hall of fame itself is a multimedia presentation featuring a moving tribute to every artist that has been inducted, followed by a walk through a dark corridor lined with backlit signatures of every artist that has been inducted.
The list of inductees, while impressive, is a long list of artists from every genre who have left their imprint on rock and roll somehow. Thing is, we were equally as mystified with those on the list as we were with those who weren’t. We wondered where were, among others, the Sex Pistols, Patti Smith and Black Sabbath? Our curiosity has prompted us to look into the guidelines for induction.
An artist becomes eligible for induction 25 years after the release date of their first record. They are judged on the basis of "the influence and significance of the artist's contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll," according to the Rock Hall's Web site. Categories for nominees include: Performers, Non-Performers, Early Influences and Sidemen. Nominees who receive the most votes, with more than 50% of the vote are inducted.
Candidates are nominated by a committee made up of about 75 "music historians," mostly recording executives and journalists. Nominees are then voted on by a collection of approximately 750 people from the music industry, including artists, producers, writers, broadcasters and executives.
So how is it that the Pistols and Sabbath have been overlooked? In a recent interview with MTV, pioneering music journalist and nominating committee member Dave Marsh blames it on a combination of democracy and lack of education.
"There are 25, maybe 50 people in the world who have paid attention to all of this music from the beginning, and I would say the majority of those people are represented on the nominating committee. We come up with a pretty good list every year, and that list is then [voted upon] by an electorate that is not very knowledgeable,†he said.
"Kiss is not a great band, Kiss was never a great band, Kiss never will be a great band, and I have done my share to keep them off the ballot," Marsh said. "And there's your problem: There's a wide discrepancy in points of view about who should be in, and there's an enormous field of candidates. There's nothing you can do to change the fact that other people's taste is different."
Our Thoughts
Although there are many artists who should be in the Rock Hall that seem to be overlooked, the Hall of Fame and museum is a moving tribute to the greatest genre of music – Rock and Roll.
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