2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... or Shame?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of nominees for induction in 2011 has been released, and the honored musical artists are Alice Cooper, the Beastie Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, the J. Geils Band, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits, and Chuck Willis. The inductees will be announced in December, with the ceremony held in March. Some on the list have been nominated before: LL Cool Jay, Beastie Boys, Nyro, Summer, Love and Chic.

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(donna summer)

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Now, here's where it gets interesting. In the early years of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductions, deciding who should be in was easy. Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin, etc., who could possible deny that they, and many others, all richly deserved a place of immortality in music history? But now we're reaching a point where most of the true legends have already been inducted, and we're starting to reach the "B" and "C" levels of rock and roll, and the arguments grow more heated each year about who should and shouldn't be in.

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(tom waits)

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For instance, last year, there was major disagreement about the induction of Abba. No doubt they've sold more records than almost any other group in modern music history, but the fact that their music was decidedly "pop" angered many of the purists who argued that Abba is not even "rock and roll". It's a ridiculous argument, which we wrote about last year. See our post on this topic by clicking on "Music - Abba" in the Labels List.

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(dr. john)

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Many music critics and d.j.'s across the country were arguing this latest class of nominees today, and many feel that Tom Waits, Dr. John and The Beastie Boys will definitely make it this year. And we'll add Darlene Love to that list; she's way overdue. But some of the others, i.e. Bon Jovi and L.L. Cool J were the butt of a lot of scorn today for even being nominated. Others like Laura Nyro are, no doubt, considered heavyweights as songwriters, but not necessarily as singers.

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We've got a suggestion. Maybe there should actually be different "levels" within the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There could a "legends" Hall, where the true greats reside, but then have smaller wings for "One Hit Wonders" and groups like Bon Jovi who, while certainly popular, probably don't really belong on the same level of honor as Elvis or The Beatles. Just sayin'.

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(darlene love with phil spector)