This year’s six inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame were announced Wednesday morning, and they are Whitney Houston, Depeche Mode, the Notorious B.I.G., Nine Inch Nails, the Doobie Brothers, and T. Rex.
Notably absent from the Class of 2020, however, was Pat Benatar.
The fact that Benatar — one of the most successful female artists of the 1980s, who undoubtedly set the template for female hard rock singers at a time when few female hard rock singers had a presence on the charts or at rock radio — had never been nominated before had been a subject of annual Hall protest. She was widely predicted to be a lock this year, especially considering that last year’s inductee, Janet Jackson, had implored in her Rock Hall acceptance speech to thunderous applause: “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, please, 2020: Induct more women!” (Only three female artists total were on this year’s Hall ballot, the other two being Houston and passed-over four-time nominee Rufus featuring Chaka Khan. Women make up less than 8 percent of all Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees.)
Benatar actually came in second in this year’s online Fan Vote. Also not making the Class of 2020 cut were the Dave Matthews Band, who actually topped the Fan Vote by a wide margin. (It is noteworthy that the seven previous winners of the Fan Vote had all been inducted in their years).
Along with Benatar, hard/classic rock in general was passed over, with nominees Motörhead, Thin Lizzy, Todd Rundgren, the MC5, and two other artists that made the top five of the Fan Vote, Judas Priest and Soundgarden, all not getting in.
It was also interesting that six-time nominees Kraftwerk were passed over in favor of their logical successors Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails, since it could easily be argued that all electronic music can be traced back in some way to the German techno pioneers. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chiefshrink:
Hey, when Blondie(Debbie Harry) was inducted, I quit paying attention. Nothing more than a popularity contest for the current moment/flavor of the day chosen by people uneducated in the history of Rock and Roll and Rock in general.
Blondie in b4 Joe Cocker, Grand Funk, Chicago, Rush ????? Of which Chicago 'just' got put in just recently!!
Blondie was the band. Debbie Harry was the lead singer and Blondie was one of the first punk bands and a truly experimental one at that.
The Rock and Roll hall of fame is pretty Anglo centric though. It could expand past just the US, Canada, and the UK but that is asking a bit much from the minds behind Rolling Stone. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Kiimosabi:
Abba is one of the top ten most successful bands of all time in terms of sales and hits maybe you should have a rock n roll hall of fame in your basement for bands you enjoy more than others.
Abba isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a rock band. Whitney Houston did not record one single rock song her entire career. It is the ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame, not the WE SOLD THE MOST ALBUMS IN ANY KIND OF MUSIC hall of fame. [Reply]
Originally Posted by srvy:
Linda Ronstadt recorded it on he Prisoner in Disguise album at the peek of her popularity and before Whitney. Got a lot of airplay.
I've always enjoyed Linda Ronstadt's hatred towards bras but how could she possibly be in the R&RHF?!? [Reply]
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a total joke. Witney Houston but not Pat Benatar? How about they change the name to People We Personally Like Hall of Fame? :-) [Reply]
Apparently there is a Pop Music Hall of Fame in Canonsburg PA. Can we start booting these pop acts out of the RnR HOF and into Pop HOF their rightful spot? [Reply]
It's hard to choose a favorite among so many great tracks, but "The Greatest Love of All" is one of the best, most powerful songs ever written about self-preservation, dignity. Its universal message crosses all boundaries and instills one with the hope that it's not too late to better ourselves. it's impossible in this world we live in to empathize with others, we can always empathize with ourselves. It's an important message, crucial really. And it's beautifully stated on the album. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
It's hard to choose a favorite among so many great tracks, but "The Greatest Love of All" is one of the best, most powerful songs ever written about self-preservation, dignity. Its universal message crosses all boundaries and instills one with the hope that it's not too late to better ourselves. it's impossible in this world we live in to empathize with others, we can always empathize with ourselves. It's an important message, crucial really. And it's beautifully stated on the album.
Originally Posted by splatbass:
But it isn't rock and roll.
Yeah yeah...has it ever really been the "rock and roll" hall of fame? I'm sure plenty of motown made it in early on. It's the "relevant music" hall of fame, but that's less catchy. [Reply]
