February 11, 2010 11:02 PM
Eddie Vedder inducting the Ramones in 2002With the
2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony just around the corner, it's time to predict who the presenters might be. Here are our picks:
What do you think? Leave your predictions in the comments.
December 11, 2009 09:57 PM
This year, there are twelve nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and just five of them will be inducted. We've done the math, and there are 792 different combinations possible of the five inductees. Here are the five we're predicting will be honored on March 15th:
- KISS: Yes, one of the biggest Rock Hall snubs will likely be rectified this year.
- The Hollies: After waiting 20 years to get nominated, Graham Nash's first band will probably get in on their first try.
- ABBA: One of the biggest bands in the world will get in this year. They were nominated in 2003, but the competition was stiffer then.
- Darlene Love: Only 19% of our voters put her on their ballots, but our voters probably didn't get personally lobbied by Bruce Springsteen. This feels similar to the Ronettes nomination in 2007.
- Genesis: If Genesis gets inducted, they will be the first prog rock act inducted since Pink Floyd in 1996.
We're predicting that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, The Stooges, Jimmy Cliff, and The Chantels will all have to try again next year.
Over 2400 Future Rock Legends voters cast their ballots in the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Genesis (on 69% of ballots), ABBA (65%), KISS (63%), The Stooges (55%), and Red Hot Chili Peppers (55%). [The last two years, FRL voters have accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.]
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2010 inductees soon. Keep checking Future Rock Legends for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news. You can also follow us on Twitter.
September 06, 2009 12:11 AM
Future Rock Legends has announced its prediction of the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees: The Stooges, Deep Purple, Chic, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The "5" Royales, Beastie Boys, Joe Tex and Donna Summer. Check out the full story
here.
August 23, 2009 08:48 AM
Roger Friedman, former Fox News columnist and now Hollywood Reporter blogger,
reports that
David Geffen will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, presumably in the Non-Performer category. Friedman also writes that Universal Music Group head
Doug Morris will be honored in 2011. Both Geffen and Morris were disciples of the late Ahmet Ertegun, whom the Non-Performer award is now named after.
February 21, 2009 08:47 PM
The latest issue of
Rolling Stone has a five-star review of the new
U2 album, which led us to wonder when the last time the magazine gave a five-star review to a non-Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artist. Over the years, we noticed that they seem to reserve the perfect rating for artists who have already cemented their legendary status (Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan come to mind). When was the last time the magazine went out on a limb to anoint an album of new material an instant classic?
For our purposes, we're excluding five-star reviews of reissues and compilations, which Rolling Stone hands out fairly regularly and generally are given to artists that are already determined to be "immortals." So let's find the five-star reviewed albums by artists before they were eligible for the Rock Hall. Here are the five-star reviewed albums by non-Rock and Roll Hall of Famers since 1986 (in reverse chronological order):
- Kanye West - Late Registration, 2005
- The White Stripes - Elephant, 2003
- Beck - Sea Change, 2002
- R.E.M. - Automatic for the People, 1992 (inducted in 2007)
- Metallica - Metallica, 1991 (inducted in 2009)
- Pixies - Doolittle, 1989
- N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton, 1988
- Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation, 1988
- U2 - The Joshua Tree, 1987 (inducted in 2005)
- Prince - Sign O the Times , 1987 (inducted in 2005)
- R.E.M. - Document, 1987 (inducted in 2007)
- Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction, 1987
- The Smiths - The Queen is Dead, 1986
- Run-DMC - Raising Hell, 1986 (inducted in 2009)
- Paul Simon - Graceland, 1986 (inducted in 2001)
As you can tell, Rolling Stone is extremely judicious in handing out five star reviews, but when they do, they have a good track record of picking artists who eventually end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And of the artists who are not in yet, it's difficult to find any who won't likely end up enshrined in Cleveland someday. The only two artists on the list who are eligible and not in the Rock Hall are The Smiths (eligible since 2008) and Sonic Youth (eligible since 2007). Neither group has received much attention from the Nominating Committee yet, but that is likely to change in the coming years.
One other thing to note is that there is only one debut album on the list (Appetite for Destruction). Usually, the five-star reviewed album follows other notable work from the artist, so Rolling Stone isn't gambling its reputation on a previously unknown artist.
Major thanks go out to Erik J. Heels who has been tracking these five star reviews for many years now. We'll be sure to take note of any new five-star reviews in the future.
Update: We removed Pavement's Slanted & Enchanted from the list above. That album didn't get its five-star review until the reissue came out. Can anyone confirm the others were all from their initial review?
January 16, 2009 10:48 PM
Even though the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame probably won't reveal the names of the presenters of the
2009 inductees for a of couple months, it's not too early to start the speculation (hey, it's what we do). Here are some preliminary ideas:
What do you think? Leave your predictions in the comments.
January 05, 2009 10:21 PM
Charles A. Hohman
takes a look at the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees and attempts to find the worthiest candidates. For example:
ChicWorthy of induction? Disco has been as if not more influential on the last thirty years of pop music than the more critically-beloved punk rock. And yet only one disco act is in the Hall of Fame: The Bee Gees. However awesome “Tragedy” and “Night Fever” are, the Brothers Gibb are white heterosexuals representing (and appropriating) a subculture rooted in blackness and gayness. And probably more than any disco act, Chic’s grooves were instrumental to hip-hop’s formative years.
But will they be? In the Wennerist mindset, “disco sucks” is still a credible theory. Credible enough to shut Chic out yet again, in favor of less deserving contenders.
Hohman personally favors Metallica, Run-DMC, Chic, The Stooges and War, but thinks that the actual inductees will be the five that we have predicted. Read the whole post here.
December 25, 2008 08:21 PM
Future Rock Hall predicts the
2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees will be:
- Metallica: It was shocking last year when Metallica wasn't nominated in their first eligible year because they have the highest induction chances percentage of any artist. This one is truly a no-brainer for the voting committee.
- Jeff Beck: Voters are also likely to respond to a legendary name who is appearing for the first time on the ballot.
- The Stooges: Is this finally the year The Stooges get in after losing out on the final ballot six previous times? Their performance at last year's induction ceremony should put them over the top.
- Run DMC: As hip-hop immortals they should be a sure thing, but last year's rejection of the Beastie Boys shows that voters may be taking it slow when it comes to hip-hop.
- Little Anthony and the Imperials: Nostalgia could play a factor in inducting this doo-wop group, especially since they are peers of many of the inductees who are part of the nominating committee.
Over 1700 Future Rock Hall voters cast their ballots in the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Metallica (on 79% of ballots), Jeff Beck (77%), The Stooges (75%), Run DMC (69%), and War (60%). [Last year, FRH voters accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.] The poll results are just one of the factors that go into Future Rock Hall's induction forecast, but there is agreement on four out of five nominees.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2009 inductees in January. Keep checking Future Rock Hall for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news.
November 12, 2008 09:46 PM
Rolling Stone magazine
unleashed their latest "greatest" list today, this one focusing on the best singers of all-time (not necessarily rock, by the way).The
list was compiled after
Rolling Stone polled a bunch of artists, journalists and music industry folks to name their top 20 singers.
A hefty 72 of the artists listed are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. That leaves just 28 artists who are not yet in. Quite a few of these are primarily known as country singers (George Jones, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Patsy Clline), and generally wouldn't be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyway, although there have been exceptions (like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash). There are seven artists who aren't eligible yet, but a few of them are likely future inductees, like Nirvana, Radiohead and Guns 'N Roses.
Of the notable snubs on the list, Nina Simone ranks the highest, but many rock fans will likely point to Steve Perry's inclusion on this list as another reason for Journey's induction.
The full list:
- Aretha Franklin
- Ray Charles
- Elvis Presley
- Sam Cooke
- John Lennon
- Marvin Gaye
- Bob Dylan
- Otis Redding
- Stevie Wonder
- James Brown
- Paul McCartney
- Little Richard
- Roy Orbison
- Al Green
- Robert Plant
- Mick Jagger
- Tina Turner
- Freddie Mercury
- Bob Marley
- Smokey Robinson
- Johnny Cash
- Etta James
- David Bowie
- Van Morrison
- Michael Jackson
- Jackie Wilson
- Hank Williams
- Janis Joplin
- Nina Simone *
- Prince
- Howlin' Wolf
- Bono
- Steve Winwood
- Whitney Houston *
- Dusty Springfield
- Bruce Springsteen
- Neil Young
- Elton John
- Jeff Buckley
- Curtis Mayfield
- Chuck Berry
- Joni Mitchell
- George Jones *
- Bobby "Blue" Bland
- Kurt Cobain *
- Patsy Cline *
- Jim Morisson
- Buddy Holly
- Donny Hathaway *
- Bonnie Raitt
- Gladys Knight
- Brian Wilson
- Muddy Waters
- Luther Vandross *
- Paul Rodgers *
- Mavis Staples
- Eric Burdon **
- Christina Aguilera *
- Rod Stewart
- Björk *
- Roger Daltrey
- Lou Reed
- Dion
- Axl Rose *
- David Ruffin
- Thom Yorke *
- Jerry Lee Lewis
- Wilson Pickett
- Ronnie Spector
- Greg Allman
- Toots Hibbert *
- John Fogerty
- Dolly Parton *
- James Taylor
- Iggy Pop **
- Steve Perry *
- Merle Haggard *
- Sly Stone
- Mariah Carey *
- Frankie Valli
- John Lee Hooker
- Tom Waits *
- Patti Smith
- Darlene Love *
- Sam Moore
- Art Garfunkel
- Don Henley
- Willie Nelson *
- Solomon Burke
- The Everly Brothers
- Levon Helm
- Morrissey *
- Annie Lennox *
- Karen Carpenter *
- Patti LaBelle *
- B.B. King
- Joe Cocker *
- Stevie Nicks
- Steven Tyler
- Mary J. Blige *
* = not yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
** = nominated in 2009
October 20, 2008 09:11 PM
As a part of its 50th anniversary this year, Billboard put together a
list of the Hot 100's top 100 artists of all-time (well, 1958 through today). As opposed to
Rolling Stone's and
VH1's lists of the all-time greats, which polled groups of artists, Billboard
uses their singles charts to generate their list. The results certainly show the most
popular artists from the last 50 years, but are not very indicative of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers (no Hendrix, Dylan, The Who, The Police, U2, etc.). Of the 100 artists listed below, 40 are Hall of Famers. Of the 60 who are not in, 46 are eligible and have never reached final ballot for induction.
Looking down the list at the artists who aren't eligible yet (indicated with an asterisk), there really aren't any slam dunks for induction, although a strong case could be made for a few of them. If ranking high on this list were important to the Rock Hall, then Janet Jackson (the highest ranking eligible artist) should have at least received some serious consideration by the Nominating Committee, but she has not. Clearly the Rock Hall is looking for other credentials in their Hall of Famers besides having a successful singles career.
As far as using this list as prediction tool, we wouldn't recommend it. It's unlikely that over the next 20 years that any more than a handful of the non-Hall of Famers listed below will be inducted.
The complete list follows, with links to the non-Hall of Famers:
- The Beatles
- Madonna
- Elton John
- Elvis Presley
- Stevie Wonder
- Mariah Carey *
- Janet Jackson
- Michael Jackson
- Whitney Houston *
- The Rolling Stones
- Paul McCartney/Wings
- Bee Gees
- Chicago
- The Supremes
- Daryl Hall & John Oates
- Prince
- Rod Stewart
- Olivia Newton-John
- Aretha Franklin
- Marvin Gaye
- Usher *
- Phil Collins
- Billy Joel
- Donna Summer
- Diana Ross
- Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
- The Temptations
- The Beach Boys
- Lionel Richie
- Neil Diamond
- Carpenters
- Boyz II Men *
- The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
- Connie Francis
- Brenda Lee
- Barbra Streisand
- Kenny Rogers
- Bryan Adams
- Cher
- George Michael *
- Bobby Vinton
- John Mellencamp
- Three Dog Night
- Huey Lewis & The News
- Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine *
- Bon Jovi
- Ray Charles
- Chubby Checker
- Foreigner
- Kool & The Gang
- Ricky Nelson
- Duran Duran
- Commodores
- Eagles
- Paul Anka
- TLC *
- Barry Manilow
- Dionne Warwick
- Gladys Knight & The Pips
- Heart
- The Everly Brothers
- R. Kelly *
- Bobby Darin
- James Brown
- Paula Abdul *
- Richard Marx *
- Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship
- Destiny's Child *
- Linda Ronstadt
- Celine Dion *
- Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
- Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
- Fleetwood Mac
- Bruce Springsteen
- The Pointer Sisters
- John Denver
- Four Tops
- Tony Orlando & Dawn
- The 5th Dimension
- Alicia Keys *
- Captain & Tennille
- Andy Gibb
- Air Supply
- Nelly *
- Roy Orbison
- The Spinners
- Queen
- 50 Cent *
- Dion
- Aerosmith
- Billy Ocean
- Tommy James
- Earth, Wind & Fire
- Brook Benton
- Michael Bolton
- Styx
- Toni Braxton *
- Neil Sedaka
- Herman's Hermits
- Simon & Garfunkel
* = not yet eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
So, for example, if you're arguing that Neil Diamond should be inducted based on the number of hits he has had, you need to be prepared to induct everyone with a higher position on this list. If you can't do that, then it's unwise to use Billboard chart success as a sole reason for induction.
October 18, 2008 02:11 PM
Blender recently came up with a list of the
100 greatest American albums of all-time. Clearly there are a number of problems with the list (such as using greatest hits albums, the absence of
Daydream Nation, listing Canadians such as Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, nothing listed from this decade, etc.), but
any ranking such as this will never please everyone.
As far as using the list as a predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are 45 artists who are Hall of Famers and 41 artists listed who are not. Of the non-Hall of Famers, only the Beastie Boys and Nirvana have two albums listed, and both are almost sure to be inducted in the future.
Other artists who are likely to be inducted after they become eligible are Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Public Enemy, Beck and Jane's Addiction. Some of the artists who might be on the bubble are Modern Lovers, the Minutemen, Hole, Mary J. Blige and Pavement.
Some of the most popular snubbed artists are represented by Randy Newman, Kiss, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson and The Replacements.
There are obviously a number of hip-hop albums listed, and most of those artists listed would seem to have a good chance at future induction.
The full list is below:
- Madonna - The Immaculate Collection (Sire, 1990)
- Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (Def Jams, 1986)
- Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
- Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (Tamla Motown, 1973)
- Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (Geffen, 1987)
- Ramones - Ramones (Sire, 1976)
- Blondie - Parallel Lines (Chrysalis, 1978)
- Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (Chess, 1982)
- Nirvana - Nevermind (DGC, 1991)
- Joni Mitchell - Blue (Reprise, 1971)
- Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jams, 1988)
- Metallica - Metallica (Elektra, 1991)
- Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (Epic, 1979)
- Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966)
- Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Tamla, 1973)
- Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Rhino, 1962)
- The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (Verve, 1967)
- Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain (Warner Bros., 1984)
- Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise, 1979)
- James Brown - Sex Machine (King, 1970)
- Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (Columbia, 1966)
- Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia, 1966)
- R.E.M. - Murmur (IRS, 1983)
- Parliament - Mothership Connection (Casablanca, 1975)
- Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (Bad Boy/Arista, 1997)
- Van Halen - Van Halen (Warner Bros., 1978)
- Al Green - Call Me (Hi, 1973)
- Aerosmith - Rocks (Columbia, 1976)
- Beck - Odelay (DGC, 1996)
- Little Richard - Grooviest 17 Original Hits! (Specialty, 1959)
- Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia Legacy, 2000)
- Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (Curtom, 1972)
- Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits (Mercury, 1978)
- Steely Dan - Katy Lied (MCA, 1975)
- The B-52's - The B-52's (Warner Bros., 1979)
- Chic - Risqué (Atlantic, 1979)
- Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (Capitol, 1989)
- Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)
- Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions (RCA/BMG, 1976)
- Hole - Live Through This (DGC, 1994)
- Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968)
- Patti Smith - Horses (Arista, 1975)
- Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On (Epic, 1971)
- Dr. Dre - The Chronic (Death Row, 1992)
- Pearl Jam - VS. (Epic, 1993)
- Run-DMC - Raising Hell (Profile, 1986)
- Phil Spector - Back to Mono (1958–69) (ABKCO, 1991)
- Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959)
- Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (Interscope, 1999)
- Kiss - Destroyer (Casablanca, 1976)
- Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (Asylum, 1974)
- Randy Newman - 12 Songs (Reprise, 1970)
- A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (Jive, 1991)
- Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol, 1955)
- Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes (Columbia, 1975)
- Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire E(PIC, 1996)
- Mary J. Blige - My Life (MCA, 1994)
- Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Warner Bros., 1970)
- Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud/RCA, 1993)
- Paul Simon - Graceland (Warner Bros., 1986)
- The Coasters - 50 Coastin' Classics (Rhino, 1992)
- Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town (Columbia, 1978)
- Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (Columbia, 1968)
- Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (Reprise, 1974)
- Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (Columbia, 1958)
- Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (Berserkley, 1976)
- Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (Matador, 1992)
- TLC - Crazysexycool (Laface, 1994)
- Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd) (MCA, 1973)
- Prince - Sign "O" the Times (Paisley Park, 1987)
- L.L. Cool J - Radio (Def Jam, 1985)
- Carpenters - The Singles 1969–1981 (A&M, 2000)
- Pixies - Surfer Rosa (4AD, 1988)
- Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (Atlantic, 1968)
- Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia, 1998)
- Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960 (Chess, 1960)
- Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (Warner Bros., 1998)
- Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis (RCA, 1969)
- Woody Guthrie - Dustbowl Ballads (Camden, 1964)
- Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope, 1994)
- Various Artists - Nuggets: 1965–1968 (Elektra, 1972)
- De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989)
- The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (SST, 1984)
- Buddy Holly - Greatest Hits (MCA, 1995)
- Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (Columbia, 1975)
- Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (Reprise, 1970)
- R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (Warner Bros., 1992)
- DJ Shadow - Endtroducing… (Mo'wax/FFRR, 1996)
- Talking Heads - Remain in Light (Sire, 1980)
- Weezer - Weezer (Geffen, 1994)
- Eagles - Hotel California (Asylum, 1975)
- Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams (Rough Trade, 1988)
- Tori Amos - Under the Pink (Atlantic, 1994)
- Nirvana - In Utero (DGC, 1993)
- Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA, 1971)
- Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause (Top Dog/Lava/Atlantic, 1998)
- The Doors - The Doors (Elektra, 1967)
- The Replacements - Let It Be (Twin Tone, 1984)
- Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (Tamla, 1974)
- Otis Redding - Otis Blue — Otis Redding Sings Soul (Atlantic, 1965)
Other than Sonic Youth, who do you think are the worst omissions? Smashing Pumpkins? Wilco? Soundgarden? Red Hot Chili Peppers? The Flaming Lips? The White Stripes? Devo? Let us know in the comments.
October 06, 2008 09:22 PM
Now that Rolling Stone's list of 100
Immortals has been thoroughly parsed, here is another "greatest of all-time" list to chew on.
Back in 1998, VH1 asked 600 musicians to list what they felt were the greatest artists of all-time. As you might expect, the list included many artists who were already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the time, but it also includes a whopping 26 artists who weren't in the Hall, but have subsequently been inducted.
There are only twelve artists from the list who are not in the Rock Hall: Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Kiss, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Coltrane, Tina Turner, Devo, Iggy Pop, T. Rex, Carole King and Tom Waits. (Sting, Tina Turner and Carole King are already Hall of Famers, but not as solo performers.) So, when the list was created, 62 of the 100 artists were already Hall of Famers, and of the 38 that weren't, 68% were inducted within ten years. That's a pretty good track record.
We would love to see a new poll of musicians which would rank the top artists since 1980, and see how well that would predict future Hall of Famers.
Here is the complete list:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- Jimi Hendrix
- Led Zeppelin
- Bob Dylan
- James Brown
- David Bowie
- Elvis Presley
- The Who
- The Police *
- Stevie Wonder
- Ray Charles
- The Beach Boys
- Marvin Gaye
- Eric Clapton *
- John Lennon
- Elton John
- Prince *
- Pink Floyd
- The Doors
- Aretha Franklin
- Fleetwood Mac
- The Eagles
- Bob Marley
- Van Morrison
- Chuck Berry
- Bruce Springsteen *
- Sly & the Family Stone
- U2 *
- Neil Young
- The Clash *
- Joni Mitchell
- Queen *
- Buddy Holly
- Otis Redding
- Little Richard
- Al Green
- Elvis Costello *
- Miles Davis *
- Michael Jackson *
- Janis Joplin
- Nirvana #
- Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers *
- The Jackson Five
- Crosby, Stills & Nash
- The Sex Pistols *
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Van Halen *
- Roy Orbison
- R.E.M. *
- B.B. King
- Cream
- Peter Gabriel #
- The Grateful Dead
- The Byrds
- The Kinks
- Steely Dan *
- Sam Cooke
- Bo Diddley
- Earth, Wind & Fire *
- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
- Paul McCartney *
- Sting ##
- Frank Zappa
- James Taylor *
- Talking Heads *
- Kiss #
- The Allman Brothers
- Pretenders *
- Stevie Ray Vaughan #
- Rod Stewart
- Simon & Garfunkel
- Muddy Waters
- The Velvet Underground
- Curtis Mayfield
- The Bee Gees
- John Coltrane #
- Billy Joel *
- Aerosmith *
- Tina Turner ##
- The Band
- Devo #
- Iggy Pop #
- T. Rex #
- Carole King ##
- Madonna *
- Santana
- Ramones *
- Johnny Cash
- Tom Waits #
- Gladys Knight & the Pips
- The Temptations
- The Four Tops
- Diana Ross & the Supremes
- Robert Johnson
- Lynyrd Skynyrd *
- Fats Domino
- Traffic
- Parliament/Funkadelic
- Paul Simon *
* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after 1998
# Still not a Hall of Famer; Nirvana is the only artist listed who is not yet eligible because of the 25 year rule
## A Hall of Famer, but not as a solo performer
Update: This list is now next to the "Immortals" list too.
September 30, 2008 10:25 PM
The incomparable
Tom Lane e-mails in with this interesting news:
On Dave Marsh's weekly Sirius XM show, "Kick Out The Jams", he picked 5 names he would be voting for on this year's ballot: Chic, War, Jeff Beck, Stooges, and Run DMC.Marsh also said that this year's ballot was "flawless" and made a remark about how he opposed the Beastie Boys getting into the Hall.
He also said that he wouldn't vote for Metallica because they are going to get in anyway.
Marsh's belief that the ballot is "flawless" is probably
not shared by anyone else outside of the
Nominating Committee, but that's great he's happy with the choices he helped make.
Four out of Marsh's five selections are currently leading Future Rock Hall's 2009 ballot, so he may have a chance to see many of his choices inducted in Cleveland on April 4, 2009.
Thanks, Tom. Check out Tom's top snubbed artists here.
September 27, 2008 01:03 PM
The Cleveland Plain Dealer's pop music critic, John Soeder, follows the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame about as closely as any journalist out there. He recently
offered his take on the 2009 nominees induction chances, summarized below.
Safe Bets: Metallica, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Stooges
Too Close To Call: Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Chic
Long Shots: Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, War
Soeder's confidence in the induction of Little Anthony and the Imperials is a little surprising, given this is the first time they have been nominated in over 20 years of eligibility.
You can cast your own ballot here and weigh in on the nominations here.
September 08, 2008 10:09 PM
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee got together today in New York to hold their annual meeting to determine the 2009 ballot. USA Today has
a feature article speculating about who the committee might nominate, and they come to the conclusion that Bon Jovi has the best chance of any of the
newly eligible artists:
The closest thing to the Madonnas, R.E.M.s, Van Halens and U2s that have starred at recent inductions is probably Bon Jovi.Another leading prospect is the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the rest of the crop — including Cyndi Lauper, k.d. lang, Billy Bragg, and metal extremists Slayer — are more marginal prospects.
Which means the committee will need to turn to holdovers — those previously eligible artists who have yet to gain sufficient support. Among them are previous nominees Chic, Donna Summer and the Beastie Boys, all of whom must confront the "Is disco or rap really rock?" conundrum that regularly polarizes voters and fans.
Bon Jovi is currently leading USA Today's reader poll with 29% of the vote. Rush (15%), Metallica (10%) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (10%) are the other leading artists.
August 25, 2008 11:31 PM
Future Rock Hall has announced its prediction of the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees: The Stooges, Chic, Metallica, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Hollies, Beastie Boys, Run-DMC, Kraftwerk and Donna Summer. Check out the full story
here.
July 18, 2008 07:38 PM
Does
Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals" hold the keys to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Find out
here.
January 22, 2008 10:48 PM
The Shortlist Organization announced today the 2007 finalists for the Shortlist Music Prize:
The
Shortlist Music Prize (fair warning: it's an awful website) is where "the worlds most creative recording artists honor their peers," so it is a good (but not perfect) indicator of what current artists are listening to, and could therefore be a measuring stick for future Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Something to keep an eye on in the years to come if they can get the right "Listmakers" (i.e. no more radio DJ's).
December 05, 2007 09:54 PM
For the past couple of years, the good folks over at
A List of Things Thrown Together Five Minutes Ago (ALLOT5MA) have been grading various artists' Rock Hall credentials using a method adapted from baseball analysis. The original
Keltner list was developed by the brilliant baseball analyst Bill James to help determine which baseball players deserve to be in Cooperstown. ALOTT5MA adapted the list of questions for the Rock Hall (shown here from their
analysis of Metallica):
- Was Metallica ever regarded as the best artist in rock music? Did anybody, while Metallica was active, ever suggest that Metallica was the best artist in rock music?
- Was Metallica ever the best artist in rock music in its genre?
- Was Metallica ever considered the best at its instruments?
- Did Metallica have an impact on a number of other bands?
- Was Metallica good enough that it could play regularly after passing its prime?
- Is Metallica the very best artist in history that is not in the Hall of Fame?
- Are most bands who have a comparable recording history and impact in the Hall of Fame?
- Is there any evidence to suggest that Metallica was significantly better or worse than is suggested by its statistical records?
- Is Metallica the best artist in its genre that is eligible for the Hall of Fame?
- How many #1 singles/gold records did Metallica have? Did Metallica ever win a Grammy award? If not, how many times was Metallica nominated?
- How many Grammy-level songs/albums did Metallica have? For how long of a period did Metallica dominate the music scene? How many Rolling Stone covers did Metallica appear on? Did most of the bands with this sort of impact go into the Hall of Fame?
- If Metallica were the best band at a concert, would it be likely that the concert would rock?
- What impact did Metallica have on rock history? Was it responsible for any stylistic changes? Did it introduce any new equipment? Did it change history in any way?
- Did the band uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?
Obviously not every question can be answered objectively (and thus won't provide definitive answers), but it does provide a useful guide when trying to figure out the worthiness of artists who may be on the bubble.
Check out their analysis of Donna Summer (yes), Madonna (absolutely), Chic (no), Duran Duran (yes), John Mellencamp (bubble, but yes), The Replacements (yes), Depeche Mode (no), Phil Collins (no), and of course, Rush (no). You can browse all of those and more right here. Hopefully the actual Rock Hall voters give as much thought into their choices as these guys do.
November 28, 2007 01:51 PM
The
results from the annual Cleveland Plain Dealer Rock Hall poll have been announced, and John Mellencamp was the leading vote-getter for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The other four artists who "won" are Madonna, the Dave Clark Five, Donna Summer, and the Ventures. Although the Plain Dealer poll received just 170 ballots, the results are very similar to the
Future Rock Hall poll (which is still open with over 2000 ballots already cast). The only difference between the polls is that Future Rock Hall voters prefer the Beastie Boys over the Ventures.
Official Rock Hall ballots were due on Monday this week with the winners to be announced in January.
September 30, 2007 07:30 AM
The 500+ members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Voting Committee will be receiving their 2008 ballots soon. They will be instructed to vote for exactly five out of the nine nominees, since only five will be inducted in March. Future Rock Hall is the only place you will find an
accurate representation of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot which puts you in the position of a Voting Committee member.
For the 2007 ballot, Future Rock Hall voters accurately predicted four out of the five inductees.
Cast your 2008 Rock Hall ballot here!
September 19, 2007 01:21 AM
Future Rock Hall has announced its prediction of the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominations: Metallica, Madonna, Sonic Youth, Beastie Boys, Afrika Bambaataa, The Stooges, The Dave Clark Five, Chic, John Mellencamp, The Cure, and Kraftwerk. Check out the full story
here.
July 08, 2007 07:49 AM
Cleveland Scene recently
took a look at the future prospects of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and found that it's as clear as mud.
[T]he Rock Hall's future [is] as sketchy as a Detroit Avenue hooker on meth. The Hall's website claims that one of its goals is "to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll." But how will it measure that? By record sales? Innovation? Will there be quotas for gender and race, as well as genres like hip-hop and techno? Or is it just one big popularity contest?Scene called and asked, but Rock Hall spokeswoman Margaret Thresher didn't have a response. "Good question," she said.
The answer is that without a concrete definition of rock, there is no science to make the induction process flawless. Outside of Nirvana, the next decade doesn't boast many safe picks. Even Madonna will be a controversial inductee, seeing as the pop diva never released a rock record in her entire career.
Then there are the guys who sold out arenas, only to end up on the cheesy VH1 rock docs -- the Poisons and New Kids on the Blocks of the world. No one would claim they were innovative or had any staying power (NKOTB didn't even rawk!). But they defined musical eras and sold gobs 'n' gobs of records (even though they now make up 90 percent of the stock at the Record Exchange).
How will this shadowy induction committee weigh those guys against, say, the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. -- artists that aren't household names and never graced the cover of Rolling Stone, but created whole new genres and birthed hundreds of new bands?
They go on to take a look at ten artists' chances for future induction:
June 03, 2007 07:53 PM
Astute fans of Future Rock Hall will notice that the
Induction Chances formula has been adjusted to better reflect an artist's odds of ever being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
January 23, 2007 10:20 PM
The Onion's A.V. Club has
taken a stab at predicting which artists will someday be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let's take a look at their predictions and how they compare to the
Future Rock Hall induction chances.
The A.V. Club predicts these artists will get in:
The A.V. Club is pretty safe with these predictions even though their odds should be much higher.
The A.V. Club predicts these artists will be "on the bubble":
Again, the A.V. Club underestimates the chances these artists have. Remember, the Rock Hall voting committee will eventually be represented by a generation of music experts who grew up in the 80's and 90's, and will have a keen understanding of the significance of these artists. It may be 20 years, but it will happen.
This last group won't make the cut, according to the A.V. Club:
Future Rock Hall and its users have much more confidence that the Hall of Fame will someday recognize these artist than the A.V. Club does.
Overall, the A.V. Club chose an excellent sample of artists to highlight, the majority of whom will likely be in the Rock Hall within 25 years.