The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees For 2004

So the latest inductions to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are out today.

I know a lot of people have grown sour toward the idea of a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and who can blame them? Many performers whose music is more pop than rock have been inducted, and several worthy performers have been shut out. Which makes sense, considering the criteria for induction. According to the Hall's rules for induction, criteria considered includes"the influence and significance of the artist's contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll." This is a nice way of saying that prospective inductees must have sold lots of records, and that Hall founder and Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner must have heard of them. Well, at least that means Barclay James Harvest will never get in.

I've only begun to lobby the Hall of Fame to induct Family, the British underground rock band I've devoted my other Web site (see "Miscellaneous Links" at the top left of this screen) to. Any chance for success in this endeavor is slim, simply because most Americans have never heard of them, and it's hard to make a case for Family perpetuating rock and roll when they've never become a staple of classic rock radio. But I still believe Family belongs in the Hall, simply because every one of their albums was good - except when they were superb. Besides, I see it this way; although Madonna is a purveyor of putrid pop and shouldn't be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, her induction in 2009 - her first year of eligibility - is inevitable. If they can have room for a charlatan like Madonna, surely they can find the time to honor Family! And they've been eligible since 1994!

So who's getting in for 2004? Here's the rundown:

George Harrison is being posthumously inducted as a solo artist. He has All Things Must Pass and a few good seventies and eighties singles in his favor, but it's hard to escape the fact that most of his solo albums are merely okay at best. In fact, I've only heard his homonymously titled 1979 album once. But he had a more dignified solo career than Paul McCartney, who put out one junky record too many, and Paul is in the Hall as solo artist, so why not George?

Jackson Browne is getting in this year. His mostly mannered, conservative musical arrangements don't exactly rock out, but Browne deserves to get in for his accomplished lyricism and his deeply personal outlook as a songwriter. Besides, when he does rock out, as on "Running On Empty," he rocks out pretty well.

Also getting in is Bob Seger. It's long overdue. Seger is the consummate blue-collar rocker, more so than Springsteen (and I'm from New Jersey!), and some of his most brutally heavy rock can make the Boss sound almost timid. If you don't have the Night Moves album, I suggest you get it as soon as possible! :-)

The vocal group the Dells are also getting inducted. I know nothing about the Dells, so I can't comment on them.

Traffic is being inducted as well. As Traffic is usually the band most often compared to Family, and as Family's original bass player, Ric Grech, was later a member of Traffic, this may be the closest Family gets to getting inducted for awhile. So I approve. I also approve because Traffic was a great group in its own right, powered by Dave Mason's songwriting and Steve Winwood's vocals (although albums made after Mason left, like John Barleycorn Must Die, are also revered). Mason and Winwood haven't worked together in decades, though; it'll be a sight to see them sharing the stage at the induction ceremony! :-D

Prince is being inducted. This is a toss-up. Some of his stuff is good, and much of his work is innovative. Not all of his innovations, though, are listenable. But although he's not exactly classic rock material, he's influenced enough by Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone to deserve credit as a rocker. Should he be in or not? Ah, you make the call.

Finally, ZZ Top. You can't be serious. I give the Texas power trio credit for promoting the blues and songs like "Jesus Just Left Chicago," but mostly their music is just good, dumb fun, and kind of derivative. They don't take themselves seriously; why should we? At heart, they're a decent roadhouse band that got very, very big, that's all.

A Lifetime Achievement Award in the Non-Performer category will be awarded as well, the recipient of which to be named shortly. Who might it be? Probably some venal record company executive who doesn't deserve it. But we'll see.