Tuesday, November 1, 2016

America's Pop Music Hall Of Fame

ABBA, MICHAEL JACKSON, BILLY JOEL AMONG 2017 POP MUSIC HALL OF FAME NOMINEES 
~ John Denver, Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire also first-time candidates
On-line voting to begin November 2

ABBA, Michael Jackson and Billy Joel are among twelve first-time nominees for 2017 induction into America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame.  

They join eight returning acts to comprise the twenty artists on the ballot. Nominees, representing pop music through 1979, are selected by a national panel of musicians, disc jockeys and journalists based on the artists’ breadth and depth of pop hits, as well as influence.  

Through on-line voting, the public will choose ten inductees; the national selection committee will add up to five other “Heritage” inductees.  

New nominees, in addition to ABBA, Michael Jackson and Billy Joel are John Denver, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Fifth Dimension, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Herman’s Hermits, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Johnny Rivers and Diana Ross.  

The eight returning nominees are Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Lou Christie, the Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, the Four Tops, the Jackson Five, Tommy James & the Shondells and Rod Stewart. Artists must have placed a hit on the Billboard charts between 1945 and 1979 to qualify.  

Voting begins November 2 at http://www.americaspopmusichalloffame.org and will continue through December 2. Inductees will be announced January 1, 2017.  

America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame was formed in 2011 to honor artists and other contributors to pop music. It is based in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, home of Perry Como, Bobby Vinton and the Four Coins, who together placed nearly 200 songs on America’s pop charts.  

Plans are continuing for construction of a four-story, hall of fame structure that includes a large performance center, as well as wings for both permanent and rotating collections and memorabilia.   

Prior Inductees
In a ceremony March 15, 2013, with Johnny Tillotson as master of ceremonies, the original inductees into America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame were announced. They were the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Perry Como, Bobby Darin, Neil Diamond, Brenda Lee, Johnny Mathis, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Vinton and Stevie Wonder.   

2014 - The Bee Gees, Tony Bennett, Carpenters, Chicago, Buddy Holly, Elton John, Carole King, Dean Martin, the Monkees, Roy Orbison, Patti Page, the Platters, Simon & Garfunkel and the Supremes. The Monkees were formally inducted during a standing-room only presentation at the Monkees Convention in East Rutherford, N.J. on March 17, 2014.   

2015 - Paul Anka, Glen Campbell, Chubby Checker, the Eagles, the Everly Brothers, the Four Seasons, Tom Jones, Paul McCartney, Rick Nelson, the Righteous Brothers, Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Tillotson, and Andy Williams. The “Heritage” inductees were Les Paul and Mary Ford.  

2016 - The Association, Dion and the Belmonts, the Grass Roots, the Lettermen, Barry Manilow, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Neil Sedaka, Barbra Streisand, the Temptations and Three Dog . The “Heritage” inductees were Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby, the Ink Spots and the Mills Brothers   

In Brief:    

2017 Nominees: ABBA, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Lou Christie, the Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, John Denver, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Fifth Dimension, the Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Herman’s Hermits, Michael Jackson, the Jackson Five, Tommy James & the Shondells, Billy Joel, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Johnny Rivers, Diana Ross and Rod Stewart.    

Public Voting: http://www.americaspopmusichalloffame.org through December 2nd.   

Inductees Announced: January 1, 2017