My Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Part 1

Now that I've locked into this (I never
much cared about the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame until I got started on this),
my mind won't let it go.

So, for what it's worth, here's MY
personal Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I decided that if Hall of Fame membership
is important, it should be reserved for
performers who have a significant body of
work that is contributed to rock and roll.

I decided that one or two records, no matter
how good, are enough. Even if a career was
cut short through no fault of the performer's.

So, although I like La Bamba and I'm sorry
he died so young -- there goes Ritchie Valens.
His death is part of rock and roll's history,
but Hall of Fame membership should be reserved
for the music.

Besides, I like "Chantilly Lace" better and
nobody's saying the Big Bopper should be in
the Hall of Fame, and he died in the same
instant as Ritchie.

And how many members of the Baseball Hall of
Fame are in there for one particular home
run or great fielding play?

I think popularity should carry SOME weight --
most influential artists have been popular
to some degree.

But fame alone is not enough. And some artists
had a lot of underground popularity despite
lack of radio play.

And I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
itself should be reserved for rock and roll
artists -- so adios to both Johnny Cash and
Miles Davis, however great they are in
their respective fields of country and jazz.

Admittedly, many R n B performers straddle
the line. Many of my opinions on that
are subjective. I may be down on Sam and
Dave but I'll agree Soul Man is pretty
much rock and roll -- just not enough to
put them into the hall of fame.

Ike and Tina Turner definately rock.

But Smokey Robinson and the Miracles?

I'm torn on The Supremes, but finally
decided to include them.

And by the way, just because I don't put
someone in the Hall of Fame doesn't mean
I don't like them or enjoy some or all
of their songs.

It just means their body of work is not
strong enough on the whole to put them
into the elite category.

Heck, I like a lot of Monkees stuff, I
just don't think they belong in the
Hall of Fame.

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