Rock Hall Nominations

[JoJo]

hey folks. i haven't posted here in some time, but today i saw something that i thought should be brought to the attention of the faithful.

as you may know, to be eligable for rock and roll hall of fame induction a band or artist must have been recording for 25 years; this year's target date being 1978. With Van Halen I being released in 1978, one would be lead to believe that they are now eligable for induction, and would no doubt be a first time ballot sure-thing. Then i saw this:

"The Police, the Clash, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, and Cheap Trick head the 2003 class of newly eligible, first-time artists for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In all, there are 44 artists eligible for the first time. To become newly eligible, an artist had to have first recorded 25 years ago (1978).

Others eligible for the first time are Beausoleil, Black Uhuru, Karla Bonoff, the Boomtown Rats, Buzzcocks, Cameo, Marshall Chapman, Clifton Chenier, Chic, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, Dead Boys, Dixie Dregs, Ian Dury, Joe Ely, Foreigner, Generation X (with Billy Idol), the Germs, Robert Gordon, the Heartbreakers (with Johnny Thunders), Nona Hendryx, the Jam, Evelyn "Champaigne" King, Patti LaBelle, Kenny Loggins, Mink Deville, Eddie Money, the Motors, Motorhead, Teddy Pendergrass, the Romantics, the Rumour, Shalamar, the Soft Boys, Squeeze, the Stranglers, Stuff, Suicide, Wire, and XTC."

It was posted at www.musicnews.com, which is a sorry music-news service from cdnow.com.

I am certainly not knocking those worthy nominees, the Police and Elvis in particular are two of my favorites, but surely VH is right up there in influence and importance in the history of rock!

Regardless, could there be a chance that VH would be passed up for induction this year, and no even considered by those higher ups because of their low profile over the last few years?
An outrage, in my humble opinion, that should not be allowed to prevail!!!

[Rocket]

VH (the brand) has had 3 distinctly different versions. Classic Halen is legendary and R&R HOF shoo in. Van Hagar was a great band, but not a HOF gimmee, and VHIII does not deserve to be inducted.

Eddie didn't want to change the band name and now the brand is dilluted.

May take a few years to be inducted.

[The Full BuD]

Not to mention that the Hall of Fame seems to look down on hard rock and metal. Even AC/DC and Black Sabbath aren't in there yet. I don't know why anyone would be surprised.

[Raldo]

I don't think Van Halen's inactivity in the last 3-4 years would have anything to do with not even being mentioned for the RNR Hall of Fame. Some artists have been dead for years, yet still get mentioned. Some have done a thing for ages and weren't that great to begin with (ie 'Eddie Money'). I'll wait until I see the 'final' list on VH1.com or MTV.com.

[Rocket]

I think Eddie as a guitarist may be inducted before the band.

[Hangman]

Originally posted by The Full BuD:
Not to mention that the Hall of Fame seems to look down on hard rock and metal. Even AC/DC and Black Sabbath aren't in there yet. I don't know why anyone would be surprised.

I totally agree. Not recognizing Black Sabbath's contribution to rock, and even music that is currently popular is just plain FUCKING SILLY!!!

Plus, continued changes in a band's line-up, especially with such a visible position as the lead singer, can only hurt the voting process. Which ironically, could be another reason for Sabbath waiting on the doorstep. You could argue the same for AC/DC but their change wasn't by choice.

[ July 02, 2002, 10:27 AM: Message edited by: Hangman ]

[badkaraoke]

Originally posted by Hangman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by The Full BuD:
Not to mention that the Hall of Fame seems to look down on hard rock and metal. Even AC/DC and Black Sabbath aren't in there yet. I don't know why anyone would be surprised.

I totally agree. Not recognizing Black Sabbath's contribution to rock, and even music that is currently popular is just plain FUCKING SILLY!!!

Plus, continued changes in a band's line-up, especially with such a visible position as the lead singer, can only hurt the voting process. Which ironically, could be another reason for Sabbath waiting on the doorstep. You could argue the same for AC/DC but their change wasn't by choice.</font>[/QUOTE]Ozzy hates the hall of fame and has said that he probably wouldn't show up.

bk

[Brett]

For as much as VH did for rock and roll their first 20 years, that is a joke not be mentioned in ANY article about the upcoming HOF inductions.

[Hangman]

Is that a consideration for the voting though-LOL Plus, maybe that's why Ozzy hates them (and I have heard close to the same quote) because of them continuing to overlook BS?

[JoJo]

The reason for my reaction is because last year, the hall inducted Aerosmith; a band i like, but certainly not as good as VH in terms of influence and contributions, not to mention integrity (Aerosmith sold out a long time ago, far worse than Pepsi Clear & Milk Ads).

So, if Aerosmith gets inducted, and Cheap Trick (who i also love) gets the nod, than how can VH not be first ballot easy!

[SgtSchultz]

Artists get into the R&R Hall of Fame by first being nominated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. All aspects of the induction process are handled by the Foundation, in New York.

"The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. "

A story titled "Hall of Fame shuns Detroit rockers"
by Susan Whitall of The Detroit News has these tidbits;

A standing committee of approximately 60 music business veterans nominate performers for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame every year."
"According to Suzan Evans, executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, the committee is made up of "music historians. Most of them are writers, some are producers or record company executives. All have a great deal of knowledge about music."
The nominating committee meets in New York soon after the March induction of the previous year's Hall of Fame inductees, and as you might imagine, the dialogue back and forth gets heated.
"They argue, yeah -- stuff like 'Oh, blah blah blah, you ignorant so-and-so'," says Danny Fields, a nominating committee member who worked with Iggy and the Stooges at Elektra Records."

Below is an interesting bit - but I do not know the author.
"Below Unknown Author
So where does the money go? According to the Foundation's federal filing, it goes toward putting on the show they're watching, and toward paying the Hall's director, Suzan Evans, a whopping $300,000 a year. At the same time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation contributes almost nothing to organizations that help musicians, to music programs, or directly to musicians in need. The Form 990 filed by the Foundation for 1998-99 reveals that it donated a measly $1,200 to the very needy R&B Foundation, another $2,000 to New York Music for Youth Foundation (a division of United Jewish Communities with a board comprised of record-company executives), and $77,000 to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. It listed a total revenue of $3.7 million, with expenses of $1.8 million for putting on the Hall of Fame dinner at the Waldorf. The foundation made no donations in 1997-98, although Evans made $295,000 and had $40,000 in travel expenses. Revenue and expenses were similar to those of 1998-99. "This is grotesque," said one high-placed record-industry source. "I would have guessed $150,000 at most." Another record-industry insider made an audible shriek when told the news. "I would have thought maybe $80,000 at most. What does she do?" A former associate who is considered a power player in the record business says, "She has no idea who anyone in rock and roll is, but the guys like [board member] Jann Wenner treat her like a pet. Everyone knows she has quite a gig going for her." Evans' travel apparently took her to, among other places, MIDEM, a music conference in Cannes, France, that has nothing whatsoever to do with her primary job: arranging for the inductees in the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner. Evans, whom almost no one in the music business seems to know or to have met, is said to be a Westchester socialite married to an architect. She's been the director of the Hall of Fame since its inception in 1985. This year's inductees include Paul Simon and Michael Jackson, each of whom has already been installed in the Hall of Fame as a member of a group, respectively in 1990 and 1997.
cut

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is pretty much run by two people: Sire Records founder Seymour Stein and Rolling Stone/US Magazine owner Jann Wenner, who fancies himself the leader of the organization. It's no coincidence, for example, that Paul Simon, Wenner's close friend, is again an inductee this year. Wenner also underwrote the recent NARAS Musicares dinner that honored Simon as Person of the Year during Grammy week. I asked Wenner on Friday night at his largely celebrity-free US Magazine party at the Hudson Hotel if he could tell me exactly what the Foundation did, or what its relationship to the Museum in Cleveland was. He said, "I'll tell you," and then ran off. He was not seen again. Benjamin Needler, attorney for Jann Wenner and Wenner Media, who is also on the Foundation board, told me he didn't think $300,000 was too high a salary for the director's position. "It's a big job," he said. "She [Evans] spends six months planning the show." By comparison, the directors of the R&B Foundation and the Songwriters Hall of Fame each make less than $75,000 a year. I also asked Needler about the Foundation's charitable giving. He said, "The foundation is not about fund-raising. It's about the Hall of Fame dinner. We're not about giving away $100,000 or $200,000 at a time. We want to give $2 million to someone." He could not say who that might be. "Someone worthy," he concluded. A source says: "The whole Hall of Fame thing has become like a private club. I know a lot of people who are listed on the board who have nothing to do with it and feel very distant from it." The Foundation's offices meantime are located in the New York offices of Atlantic Records. One wonders why they're not in Cleveland with the rest of the hall. "Because the center of the music business is here in New York," says Needler. What that donation of $77,000 went to is unclear since the Museum, which is run as a separate entity from the Foundation, counts AT&T, Continental Airlines, and Enterasys Networks as its three very generous corporate sponsors. In fact, says Needler: "The museum is self-sustaining now."

Some that have not been nominated
Ted Nugent, Ritche Valens, Alice Cooper, The Cars, Rush, Bob Seger, John Mellencamp, MC5, Cat Stevens, Black Sabbath, the Guess Who, Blue Oyster Cult, Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, Chicago, the Moody Blues, Jackson Browne, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Three Dog Night, Leon Russell, Randy Newman, Gram Parsons, Genesis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jethro Tull, Sex Pistols, Hall & Oates, Linda Ronstadt, Patti Smith, KISS, ELO, Peter Frampton,

[ian]

Hang on a second, everyone is getting upset over nothing.......VH is not even eligable till next year!!!!

Example: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, first album came out in 1976 and last year was their first year of eligibility, (1976 + 25= 2001)they were inducted last Feb.(2002) however that is when the ceramony takes place but it is actually for the last calander year (2001)!! So it won't be unitl the Calander year 2003 that VH will be eligable for induction and the ceremony won't take place until Feb (Or March I forget) of 2004

Hope i cleared this up

Ian

[ July 02, 2002, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: ian ]

[badkaraoke]

Originally posted by ian:
So it won't be unitl the Calander year 2003 that VH will be eligable for induction and the ceremony won't take place until Feb (Or March I forget) of 2004

Ian

I didn't realize this was how it was being interpretted..Ian is right, folks.

bk

[Walter Payton #34]

It will not surprise me if the HOF doesn't nominate Van Halen. They do not seem to recognize hard rock. I disagree with what someone else said here; I believe the Sammy era helps Van Halen's chances. The Van Halen name would have long been forgotten by many people (especially those who vote for inductees since VH is not political-rock) if the name died in 1985. Van Halen supporters can point to the great success Van Halen had in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame should change its name if it is not going to recognize hard rock.

[ July 02, 2002, 12:25 PM: Message edited by: Walter Payton #34 ]

[Brett]

Then why are the Police eligible? Didn't their first album come out in 1978? Even that dumb article states 1978 as the cutoff date.