What's Rock Got To Do With It?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, its credibility in tatters since it started inducting non-rock performers - and Madonna's induction in 2008 was a moment the Hall pole-vaulted over the shark - just inducted its 2021 class this past Saturday, October 30, and it was probably the biggest pre-Halloween joke to be broadcast since Orson Wells and the Mercury Theater presented an Americanized version of  "War Of the Worlds" on that same day in 1938.

Oh, all right, the 2021 class isn't a total waste of time.  Many worthy performers got in, and some of them were long overdue for induction. One inductee was in her eighties, which means that if you wait long enough, you'll get your due.  Except for Dave Clark Five lead singer Mike Smith, who died just before the band was inducted in 2008, a couple of years after they should have been because, in the earlier year, another act was inducted instead because it could be guaranteed to sell more tickets to the induction ceremony.

And oh yes, a couple of rappers got honored, and British bands known for their folk-based, esoteric power ballads (*cough cough*, Jethro Tull, *cough cough*, Fairport Convention, *cough cough*) did not, for various reasons (*cough cough*, political correctness, *cough cough*, rock and roll cancel culture, *cough cough*), but then there's always 2022 (*cough cough*, not on your life, *cough cough*).  

Ahh, what can you do?  We may as well call it the Popular Music Hall of Fame, the better to honor pop's diversity (*cough cough*, differences minus standards, *cough cough*)  In the meantime, let me assess each inductee:  

Tina Turner (above).  I just have one question: Why wasn't she inducted years ago?  Good grief, albums such as Private Dancer and Break Every Rule made the eighties less painful than they could have been, and "What's Love Got To Do With It?" may be (simply) the best number-one song of the past forty years.  Better late than never, and I'm happy that I don't have to refer to the late Tina Turner, if you know what I mean. 

Carole King.  Some people will suggest that Carole King doesn't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because you can't move to her music.  Okay, "So Far Away" doesn't rock.  But those who say she's not rock enough for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have obviously never heard "Smackwater Jack" or "Jazzman." And some performers others may consider more rock than Carole King became famous by recording her songs.  

The Go-Go's.  They're the female Beatles.  How could they not be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?  They proved that an all-female band could rock with a pop sensibility like the Beatles did, and "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat" were as important to rock and roll in 1981 as "I Want To Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" were in 1964.  Too bad they didn't last as long; they broke up in 1985, and although they reunited later - frontwoman Belinda Carlisle had a respectable solo career in between - their early disbandment paved the way for Madonna to slam shut the very doors the Go-Go's opened for women who could play instruments and write clever songs. (Madge can do neither.)   

Jay-Z.  No.  Never!  I don't care if Barack Obama did induct him virtually!  He's a rapper, and I remain opposed to rappers crashing the rock and roll party.  Get used to further abominations like this one.  The one thing worse than another rapper being inducted would be Donald Trump inducting a guitar-rock band, but then we don't have to worry about 3 Doors Down getting in.

Foo Fighters.  Post-grunge lives!  The band Dave Grohl formed in the wake of Kurt Cobain's death and Nirvana's subsequent breakup kept the spirit of grunge alive in a more accessible form, an though some may say some of the spirit of grunge was watered down . . . well, Foo Fighters are still great, and they rock better than Maroon 5 ever could.  It's times like these you appreciate Foo Fighters. 

Todd Rundgren.  Rundgren didn't care if he never got inducted, but he still deserves it, if songs like "We Gotta Get You a Woman" (a paean to brotherly friendship), "I Saw the Light," and "Hello, It's Me" are any indication.  I'm so happy with this induction, I just want to bang on the drum all day.  

Artists given Early Influence Awards are bluesman Charley Patton and jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, which make sense, and the German art rock band Kraftwerk, which seems to make less sense . . . mainly because they're German and they're art rockers.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has typically had no love for German music or art rock, mainly because of their overbearing whiteness, so maybe this is a way for the Hall to deflect criticism that the Scorpions and Emerson, Lake and Palmer aren't in.

The Musical Excellence Award went to three individuals, and Billy Preston was one of them.  He deserves this honor, posthumous though it may be, but honestly, why not induct him as a full-fledged Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honoree?  He had two chart-topping hits in the seventies, for Pete's sake!  But an award for "musical excellence" for LL Cool J?  I think I've already said my peace on rap for this year.  As for the late Randy Rhoads, Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist . . .well, I'm sure he was gifted, but a lot of those seventies and eighties metal records just didn't make sense to me. 

Kudos to the Hall for giving the Ahmet Ertegun Award for impresarios to Clarence Avant, the founder of Sussex Records - which put out Bill Withers' records - and the manger of Sarah Vaughan and Dylan producer Tom Wilson, the first black producer at Columbia Records.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was originally established to honor rock and roll performers but has since gone on to include performers representing (*cough cough*) a variety of (*cough cough*) pop styles.